Winchester Family Vacations
by curlybean
Summary: Sam thinks they need and deserve a vacation. Dean thinks the short, but painful history of Winchester family vacations speaks for itself. The Winchesters just aren't meant to vacation like normal people. Takes place around Season 3 and contains some tidbits of Weechester/Teenchester. Spanking mentioned.
1. Chapter 1

Winchester Family Vacations

Chapter 1

* * *

Dean wasn't the type of guy that needed a vacation. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he thought. He was definitely the type of guy that _needed _a vacation. He just wasn't the type of guy to actually _take_ a vacation. Every vacation the Winchester family had ever taken through the years hadn't ended well and he was pretty sure it was just another curse brought onto his family by something with an evil and sick sense of humor.

The first vacation he could remember was the summer before his mother died. Of course, he didn't really remember much about it, but he'd heard his dad talking to Bobby once about how that had been both the best and worst summer of his life. He'd told the older hunter about their trip to the state fair and how it had turned out so disastrous that Mary vowed to never take another vacation again.

Dean had been twelve years old when he heard the story the first time and something thrummed deep inside of him at the distant memory. He really didn't have actual memories of the trip, but he definitely had a sense of what a disaster it had been.

According to John, they had driven 187 miles to the fair because Mary wanted to see the music guests- Alabama, Kansas, Charlie Daniels, The Oakridge Boys, and Willie Nelson.

John thought it was a crazy thing to do when they had a four year old little boy and a four month old baby to drag along. With the temperature almost soaring into the nineties and the average crowd size of almost forty thousand people a day, John was convinced that the whole idea was ridiculous. But who was he to rain on Mary's parade, right? If she really wanted to go, he would be there with her.

The trip had taken almost five hours thanks to a hungry baby, a carsick four year old who had eaten too much candy the night before, and not just one, but two flat tires. John was ready to turn the car around and head back home, but all it took to change his mind was one look from his wife. One look into her blue-gray eyes could usually make him do anything.

Once they'd arrived at the hotel they'd booked in Hutchinson, they were all exhausted. Dean's shirt was covered in vomit and he was extremely cranky. Sam was hungry again and was wailing at the top of his lungs at the injustice of having to wait a few more minutes to eat. Mary was exhausted, but trying to put up a good front, not wanting John to know that she was ready to turn around and go home, too. And John needed a beer.

Unfortunately, there was a mix-up at the hotel and their reservation had been cancelled. John's patience, by that time, was completely used up and Mary sent him to sit in the lobby with the boys while she figured out what to do. John was pretty sure that he got the worst end of that deal since Sam was still crying and Dean was still cranky.

Eventually, they were given a room, though, and Mary was quick to get the boys fed, bathed, and into bed. John wasn't too far behind.

* * *

The next morning was a whole new day and John and Mary met it with great expectations. Dean was in a better mood after getting a good night's sleep and Sam was back to being the happy baby he usually was, so they quickly headed for the fairgrounds. By the time they got there, Dean had worked himself up into such a state of excitement that John had already threatened to turn the car around and go back to the hotel. He also threatened him twice with a spanking when Dean didn't listen. Dean quickly settled down after that, since he didn't want the day to be ruined.

The first few hours passed without incidence and Dean was having the time of his short life. He was happiest whenever his dad went on one of the carnival rides with him and he especially loved the bumper cars.

Sam was having fun, too, looking at all the people around him and staring up at the carnival rides. The sounds didn't seem to bother him at all and people passing by the small family would often stop and smile at the smiling baby. John thought it funny when Dean would become overly protective of his little brother.

The first incident that started the downward spiral of their day was when Sammy started freaking out. Dean was just coming off of another ride with his dad when he heard his brother screaming loudly. John had been holding onto Dean's hand, but the boy quickly pulled away as he ran to his brother. By that time, John had figured out that Sam was screaming and he took off running, too. He came to an abrupt stop when he saw the look on Mary's face. Instead of looking scared or angry, she was smiling and laughing.

John quickly looked around and saw what was making Sam cry. Standing right in front of the baby was a carnival clown with a full face of clown make-up and a red wig. The man was trying to get Sam to stop crying, but it wasn't working. Instead, Sam was crying even louder.

By the time John arrived at Mary's side, Dean was already there, standing protectively in front of his brother. John and Mary watched in horror as Dean reeled back and kicked the clown right in the shin. The man barely had time to react to the pain when another kick landed on the other shin. By the second kick, John moved forward and grabbed Dean, picking him up as he apologized profusely to the clown. He could see that Mary was trying to keep from laughing at what had happened, but he couldn't do anything but try to contain the four year old that was struggling to get down.

Eventually, Mary and John had apologized enough to the clown and the man had stormed off, limping unevenly from Dean's kicks. Mary was finally able to calm Sam down and John had given Dean a bit of a talking-to for running off like he did. He didn't scold the boy for kicking the clown, though, since Dean thought that he was protecting his little brother.

After everyone was calmed down, they took a break from the rides and grabbed lunch. Once they were done eating, Mary talked John into going into the exhibit halls for a while. Dean wasn't happy about leaving the midway, but he followed along anyway.

Halfway through the art exhibit was the first time he wandered off. Mary and John were looking at some painting that had caught their eye and Dean had spotted a stand several yards away that had toys. Looking up at his mom and dad and realizing that they weren't paying attention, Dean decided he would go check out the toys on his own. He was gone all of three minutes before he was suddenly grabbed from behind by a somewhat panicked John Winchester.

"Dean! What are you doing?! You can't just walk away from us like that, okay?"

Dean looked surprised by the panic on his dad's face, not really understanding what the big deal was. _He really hadn't gone that far away._

The second time he wandered off was worse. Mary had taken Sam to the bathroom to change his diaper while John and Dean were standing in line to get some snacks. John was in the process of ordering when Dean decided to walk over to the ring toss game. He didn't think it was that far away from his dad, but when he turned to go back, he couldn't find him.

It took John almost a full minute before he noticed that Dean wasn't hanging onto the hem of his t-shirt anymore. His heart started to pound painfully when he looked around and couldn't find his son. And it continued to pound, growing more erratic with each passing second.

Forgetting all about the food that he had already paid for, John moved around the area, pushing people aside as he called out for Dean. Minutes later, Mary returned from the bathroom, immediately realizing what was happening, and suddenly her heart was pounding just as painfully and erratically as her husband's.

It was almost a full hour before someone pointed them in the direction of the Lost and Found area and both Mary and John breathed a long sigh of relief when they entered the tent to find Dean sitting on a bench, an ice cream cone in one hand and a stuffed tiger in the other one. Mary rushed over to Dean, taking in the tear-streaked face and the obviously sticky hands. Dean, for the most part, looked like he was doing okay, but he jumped up when he saw his parents. Within seconds, Mary was holding the little boy in her arms, kissing his face and squeezing him so tightly that he was having a hard time breathing.

Once she was done, John took his turn, too. He held onto his son tightly, breathing in the scent of little boy-ness mixed with dirt and sweat. After several long seconds, he put Dean down on the ground, turned him to the side and placed a hard swat to his backside. Dean immediately started crying and both Mary and the young woman that had been watching over Dean sent John a scathing look.

He didn't care, though. He had had enough of Dean wandering off and he was determined to put a stop to it.

"What did I tell you about wandering off, Dean?" John asked the still crying little boy. "I told you to stay with me. I told you how dangerous it was to wander off, remember?"

Dean didn't answer his dad. Instead, he buried his face into the man's pant leg, rubbing his dripping nose into the man's jeans.

After thanking the young woman for watching Dean, John gathered him up into his arms and followed Mary out of the tent. They were both spent with the exhaustion of their fear and were ready to head back to the motel. Dean, on the other hand, was ready to go back to the midway and ride some more of the carnival rides.

After a few more tears and a little bet of begging from Dean, Mary and John decided that they would stay a little longer. Unfortunately, that decision led to another situation that would haunt them for a while.

* * *

By the end of the day, the little Winchester family was exhausted and a little sunburned. Dean was begging to go on one more ride and his parents finally gave in. John walked Dean over to stand in line for the little kid's Ferris Wheel. He was surprised when Dean still wanted to go on it after he found out that adults couldn't ride it. The boy was independent in a lot of ways, but he had yet to ride a single carnival ride on his own.

Mary and John stood under a shade tree while they waited for the ride to finish. Sam was sleeping soundly in his stroller, his cheeks a little pink from the sun. Mary was leaning up against John, obviously more than ready to call it a day. And John was keeping an eye on his oldest boy.

Dean's face was filled with awe and wonder as the little wheel rotated around and around. Every time his car came into view, Mary and John could see the huge smile on his face. Mary wished she'd remembered to bring a camera with her.

Figuring the ride was just about over, John made his way over to the exit to wait for Dean. He had been waiting for almost two minutes when he heard a loud screeching noise and someone screaming loudly. Looking over at Mary, he realized that she was staring up at the Ferris Wheel in complete horror. John turned his attention to the ride and immediately saw what had everyone so scared- the wheel was still turning, but one of the cars was hanging off of its arm, swinging violently back and forth.

John felt relief shoot through him when he realized it was a yellow car and not the blue one that Dean was riding in. That relief was short-lived, though, when he heard the panicked crying of the two children that were trapped inside.

Quickly jumping into action, John ran forward to help in whatever way he could. The young man that was running the ride looked terrified and seemed to be frozen in place. John tried to talk to him, asking where the emergency shut-off lever was, but the kid was too scared to talk. Eventually, John found it himself and shut it off. They all watched as the wheel came to an abrupt stop, causing the broken car to swing even more dangerously.

Without a second thought, John started climbing the wheel's structure, slowly and steadily making his way to the broken car. He passed by the blue car and saw Dean's wild eyes looking back at him.

"It's okay, Dean. I'll have you down in a minute, okay? Just sit still, kiddo. Don't move."

Dean nodded his head and sat back against the seat, determined to do exactly what his dad said to do.

Everyone on the ground watched breathlessly as John continued his ascent up the wheel. It only took him a few more minutes before he was walking out on the arm of the broken car, talking gently to the two kids in the car. He tried to calm them down, telling them the same things he'd told his son. "It's okay." "Just sit still." "Don't move."

Luckily the car's swinging had slowed way down. The kids inside the car watched as he precariously leaned out over thin air to open the cage door that had enclosed them inside the ride. Seconds later, he had the door open and was trying to coax one of them to move towards him.

It took several minutes of coaxing, but eventually the little girl slowly scooted over on the seat, making her way over to him. Once she was over as far as she could be, John reached out to her, telling her to grab his hand. It took several more minutes of telling her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her before she finally reached out tentatively. Luckily, she was a small girl and John was able to easily grab her and pull her to him. With her safely tucked against him, John tried to figure out what his next step was. He didn't want to have to climb all the way down with her and climb back up to save the little boy, but he really didn't know what else to do. It wasn't until he looked down to start his descent that he noticed another man was climbing up the structure. Within minutes, the man was right below him and he easily handed the little girl over to him.

Once they were on their way back down, John turned his attention back to the remaining child. The little boy was a little bit harder to convince to scoot over to him, but eventually he did. John wasted no time in grabbing the boy and after he was safe in his arms, John started climbing down.

He passed Dean's car again and was proud to see that Dean was doing exactly what he was told and was being very brave about it.

"Just a few more minutes, Dean, and I'll have you down. Hang in there just a little bit longer, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," Dean said bravely.

John made his way down the rest of the way and deposited the scared little boy into his mother's arms. He thanked whoever might be listening that the yellow and blue cars were the only ones with any riders in them and without a single second of hesitation, he put the wheel back in motion, bringing Dean's car back to the boarding level. He opened the door as fast as he could and suddenly found his arms full of his four year old.

"It's okay, buddy. It's all over."

Dean dug his face into his father's neck and John could feel the small body trembling. Rubbing his hands up and down Dean's back, he hurried over to Mary, knowing how worried she was. Mary immediately took Dean out of his arms and held him tightly.

They were all exhausted and eager to call it a day. And once the small family settled into their hotel room for the night, they quickly realized that they were ready to call a halt to their vacation. Both Mary and John were ready to go home and put the last two days- and the Kansas State Fair- behind them.

* * *

Thinking back on that story, Dean was reminded once again how nothing ever seemed to go well for the Winchester family. He wondered how Sam could even suggest that they take a few days off from their attempts to find Dean a way out of his demon deal. Taking a few days off had never worked for them and usually led to some crazy, chaotic mess. A mess they just didn't need at the moment.

"C'mon, Dean. Just a few days, okay? I just want to go somewhere where we can get some fresh air and maybe even some decent sleep. Please?"

Sam looked up at him with his patented puppy-dog eyes and Dean felt his resolve melting. He tried one last time to talk Sam out of his crazy plan, but couldn't get past the eyes and the slightly pouting mouth.

"Damn it, Sam. You know this isn't going to turn out good. Not for us."

"I'm sick of hearing about that whole "Winchester family vacation curse," Dean. Everyone's family vacations are a mess. Not just ours."

Dean wanted to argue that it wasn't the same, but he didn't. If his little brother wanted to lie to himself, then so be it. Dean wasn't about to lie to himself. He knew. He knew that his family was cursed. And that Winchester Family Vacations were something better left in the past.

* * *

Author's note: I went on an Anniversary trip this weekend and something inspired this little story. I have no idea how long it's going to be, but I imagine at least a few more chapters. There will be a definite plot to the story, so hang in there, guys. And don't worry…. I'll be updating my other stories soon.

And thanks for reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Winchester Family Vacations

Chapter 2

* * *

Dean finally agreed to take a few days off, against his better judgement. If he had his way, they would just keep driving, stopping whenever they needed to along the way to eat and sleep. He'd even be okay with just sleeping in the Impala. But Sam had other ideas.

They happened to be working a case in a little place in Oregon called Cannon Beach. Dean had hoped that there would be actual cannons in the little town, but Sam quickly informed him of how the town got its name. There actually was a cannon, but it was inside some museum in the small town. Sam offered to take Dean to see it, but museums were usually a hard pass for the oldest Winchester brother.

By the time they'd taken care of the poltergeist that was wreaking havoc in a small tavern in the town, Dean was starting to understand Sam's need for some time off. The owner of the tavern happened to be the second cousin of a man they'd recently worked with to get rid of another poltergeist. Dean was starting to wonder if the family was cursed in a way similar to his own.

This particular poltergeist had been particularly nasty and once they were done, both Sam and Dean were sporting several bruised ribs and lacerations. Dean also had a pretty nasty headache from his abrupt meeting with the tavern bar top, courtesy of the poltergeist.

They were loading up the Impala when the tavern owner met them in the parking lot. The man had been nice enough, but Dean still had a funny feeling about him. He seemed shifty and Dean wouldn't put it past the man to do something underhanded. Sam, on the other hand, was much more willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt, so when he met up with them by the car, Sam stopped what he was doing and greeted him. The tavern owner, Don, looked over at Dean- who was studiously ignoring him- before saying anything.

"I just wanted to say thanks again for helping me out with my little problem. My cousin said you guys were good at what you do, but I had no idea just how good. I owe you one."

"You're welcome, man," Sam replied. "Tell Jerry hello for us, okay?"

"Will do." Don turned to leave, but hesitated after only a few steps. Eventually, he turned back. "So, you guys really do this for a living?" he asked.

Dean snorted loudly. "I wouldn't say we do this for a living," he laughed. "That would suggest that we get paid for these jobs, right, Sam?"

Sam glared at his brother. "We do it because it has to be done," he finally said. "It's our family business, I guess you could say."

"Some business," Don answered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Why would anyone choose to spend their time doing a job like that? Especially when they're not really getting anything out of it."

"I wouldn't say we don't get anything out of it," Dean interjected. "We scored some free drinks from your bar last night, didn't we? And I'm guessing we have your undying gratitude, too."

"Sure you do. My wife was threatening to leave me before you boys came in and saved the day. She was so scared that she wanted me to close up the tavern."

"That would have been a real shame," Dean said snidely. Sam elbowed him in the gut in an attempt to get him to play nicer.

"We're glad we could help," Sam finally answered.

"Well, listen….. I can't really pay you for what you did, but there is something else I can do. Darcy's sister owns a little Bed and Breakfast about three hours south of here. It's a real nice place right on the ocean. They just had a cancellation for this weekend, so if you boys want it, the room is yours."

Sam looked over at Dean, trying to judge his thoughts on the idea. When Dean just gave him a short nod, he turned back to Don. "Actually, that would be great, Don. We haven't really lined up a place to stay for the next few days, so that would really be a big help."

"Great! I'll have Darcy give her sister a call and tell her you'll be there later on today."

Sam spent another few minutes getting the appropriate information from Don while Dean finished packing the car. Five minutes later, they were in the car and heading out of town. Sam had a big smile on his face and was humming off-tune to a Van Halen song. Dean kept shifting his gaze over to his brother, surprised but happy to see him in such a good mood.

"What's up with you?" he finally asked. "I'm trying to figure out how you can be in such a good mood when I'm pretty sure you're as sore as I am."

"I'm a little sore, but the thought of a little bit of downtime is making up for it. The way Don described the place sounds great. Did you know there's an actual functioning lighthouse there?"

Dean actually smiled at that. For some reason, he had always liked lighthouses.

"And there's a beach right there, too, Dean. An actual beach. How long has it been since we've been on a real beach?"

Dean knew exactly how long it had been since they'd been on a beach. It had been around ten years before and it definitely wasn't a good memory.

* * *

Dean was nineteen years old and had just met back up with his family after a road trip that had him going through five states in just as many days. John and Sam were in Florida, hunting what sounded like a rawhead, and neither his dad nor his brother knew the details of what he'd been doing, only that he'd been on a hunt with Caleb before his epic road trip back to Florida. They didn't need to know about his little side trip to Cicero and his time spent with a very bendy yoga instructor.

He hadn't seen his little brother in almost a week, and Dean was anxious to return to his family, hoping that things hadn't blown up between John and Sam. They had such a volatile relationship even on a good day, so Dean was really worried that the stressors of the hunt they were on would add to that potential explosiveness.

And he wasn't wrong.

When he finally met up with them at their motel, Sam was sleeping on one of the beds and his dad was nowhere to be found. Dean had made short work of the lock on the door and entered the room on silent feet. He was disappointed when Sam didn't respond at all to his arrival.

Standing over the full-sized bed, he watched his brother sleeping for several minutes. In the dim light of the room, the fifteen year old's face was shadowed, but Dean thought that it also might be bruised. He took the flashlight out of his pocket and pointed it at his brother's face. His heart started pounding a little more forcefully at the sight of the large bruise under the right side of Sam's jaw. He also noticed a long, but fairly superficial cut on the side of his neck.

Reaching out, he pushed a lock of Sam's hair off of his face in order to see the cut a little better. Just as he was bringing his hand back up, Sam shifted quickly, and Dean suddenly had a knife digging into the side of his neck.

"Whoa, Sammy! It's me!" he exclaimed as he tried to move his body away. It tool Sam a few beats to figure out what was going on.

"Dean? When did you get back? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Sam. And I just now got back."

"You're lucky I didn't hurt you, Dean," Sam said as he dropped his knife back onto the bed and sat up.

"And you're lucky it was me and not some monster or something that broke in. I was here for almost three full minutes before you woke up, Sam. I could have easily killed you, you know? Where's Dad?"

"Who knows?!" Sam answered sullenly.

"How long as he been gone, Sam?"

"I don't know. What time is it?"

Dean looked down at his watch. "It's two a.m."

"Then he's been gone for about five hours, I guess."

"And he didn't say where he was going?"

"Where do you think he was going, Dean? I'm sure he was heading to the nearest bar or something."

Dean looked at his brother for several seconds, trying to figure out what the kid wasn't telling him. Eventually, he figured out that he wasn't going to get any answers by staring at his brother. "How did the hunt go?"

"Dean, it's two o'clock in the morning. Can't we talk about this later?"

Dean suddenly stood up and grabbed the blankets, pulling them off Sam in one fell swoop. Sam sat up even further and glared at his brother as he reached for the blankets. Dean, of course, just moved them further away.

"We're talking now, Sammy. How did the hunt go?"

"It was fine," Sam groaned. "Dad yelled a lot and handed out orders. I followed them like a good little soldier."

Dean couldn't help but scoff at that, knowing how hard it was for Sam to follow orders 'like a good little soldier.' It was more likely that their dad handed out orders and Sam followed them like only an annoyed, sullen teenager could. He was suddenly regretting his decision to leave the two of them alone.

"Are you okay? What happened to your face?" he finally asked.

"It's nothing. The rawhead just got a little too close, I guess."

"_Got too close?! Where was Dad?!"_ Dean suddenly found himself panicking at the thought of what could have happened to his brother. While he knew his dad wouldn't ever knowingly let something happen to either one of them on a hunt, he also knew that the man tended to take more risks without him there to rein him in. Dean's highest priority on any hunt was to make sure that his brother was safe.

"We were in the basement, but Dad heard a noise upstairs and went back up to check it out."

"He left you alone? In the basement?"

"I had my taser, Dean."

"Sam, rawheads are strong and fast. It's never a good idea to go up against one by yourself and Dad knows that. He shouldn't have left you alone."

"It was just for a few minutes. He came right back down and we took out the rawhead together."

"After it almost killed you!" Dean bellowed angrily.

"It didn't _almost kill me_, Dean. It just knocked me around a little."

"Well, it shouldn't have been able to even get close to you, Sam. Dad shouldn't have let that happen in the first place."

"I'm not a baby, Dean. And since when do you gripe about something Dad did on a hunt?"

"When he does something that gets you hurt!"

Sam sat back against the headboard. "It's nothing," he repeated. "Just a few bruises. I've had worse, remember?"

Remembering all the times his little brother had been hurt on a hunt didn't make Dean feel any better. In fact, it made him even angrier. But before he could say anything else, the door to the motel opened up and John staggered in. Dean quickly moved over to the man, offering a hand to help stabilize him. John knocked the hand away and continued to stumble into the room.

"When did you get back?" he asked, his words slurring a little.

"Just now," Dean answered.

"Where have you been? Caleb called three days ago and said you boys were done."

Dean chose not to answer his dad, choosing instead to turn the conversation back to the rawhead hunt. "Sam's hurt, Dad."

"He's fine," John growled. "Just got knocked around a little."

"He's not fine. He has a huge bruise on his jaw, Dad. Did you even see it?"

"Of course, I saw it, boy. What do you take me for?"

Sam prayed that his brother wouldn't answer that question.

"You shouldn't have let him get hurt, Dad."

"What the hell are you on about, Dean? It was a hunt. It happens."

"Dean, just drop it, okay? It's two a.m. and I'm tired. And Dad's…." Sam didn't finish his statement, but Dean knew he was going to say that their dad was drunk.

"Dad's what?" John asked, anger seeping into his tone.

"Never mind," Dean said, trying to steer his dad away from an argument. "Sam's right. It's late."

Luckily, John was either too tired or too drunk to want to continue, so he just headed into the bathroom. Dean turned to his brother once the door closed.

"You're sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I promise." Sam looked relieved when Dean didn't push it any more.

"Okay, then scoot over. I'm exhausted." Dean plopped down on the bed, kicking his shoes off before curling up onto his side.

"You're just gonna sleep in your jeans?"

"Yeah, I'm too tired to take them off."

Sam laughed at his brother, but rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. Neither one of them fell asleep until John had returned from the bathroom and his loud snores filled the small room.

* * *

John was already up and had gone to get breakfast before either of his sons were awake, so when they finally woke up, the small room was filled with the scent of breakfast burritos and coffee. Everything seemed pretty much back to normal. Dean was a little quieter than usual, but he didn't want to rock the tenuous peace that filled the room.

After they'd eaten and taken showers, John ordered them to pack up. Dean and Sam looked at each other, wondering what the man had planned.

"Where are we going, Dad?" Sam finally asked, when it was obvious that John wasn't going to offer up any information.

"We're heading to Ohio. Martin needs our help with something and we'll be meeting him in Canton next Friday."

Sam's face immediately turned red and Dean didn't miss him rolling his eyes. He looked over at John, making sure the man hadn't witnessed the eye roll. They had just come off two back to back hunts and Dean knew that his little brother was tired. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

"That's an easy drive, Dad. Why do we have to leave so soon?"

John just stared at his son.

"I mean, we don't have to leave for Ohio until Wednesday, at the latest, right? It's only Thursday."

"And?"

"I don't know…. I just thought maybe we could take a few days off or something," Dean said as casually as he could. He noticed his little brother's face lighting up at the idea. "I mean, we're in Florida, Dad. How often do we actually get to come to Florida?"

"So, what…. You wanna spend the next five days hanging out at the beach? Is that it?"

"Yeah. I think maybe a little sunshine might be good for the Winchester boys. Right, Sammy?"

"Yeah, I think that would be great! We never get to spend time on a beach!"

John looked between his two sons, surprised to hear that a few days lounging around on a beach sounded good to them. "You're serious?" he asked as he studied both of them. "You really want to take a vacation?"

"When's the last time we took one, Dad? That year we almost went to the Grand Canyon? Or the year we spent a few days in New York?" Dean blushed at the memory of that particular trip, remembering what had happened when he snuck out of their motel in the middle of the night and went to CBGB. It had been a pretty great night up until the moment he saw his dad storming through the bar, obviously looking for his wayward son. The memory of what happened after that wasn't so pleasant.

John seemed to be thinking deeply for several minutes before finally coming to a decision. "If that's what you boys want, then I guess I don't see any reason why we can't stay for a few more days."

"Yes!" Sam exclaimed loudly.

Dean looked over at his brother, happy to see the big smile plastered on his face. "I think we need to do a little shopping, Sammy. We can't really go to the beach in jeans and biker boots, can we?"

* * *

For the Winchester boys, shopping was a thing of nightmares. Neither of them really cared about name brands or what was in style. Their usual shopping habits were based on how quickly they could get in and out of a store and how cheap they could get the clothes. So, buying swim trunks, t-shirts, and flip flops was a definite new experience for them.

After almost an hour spent inside a used clothing store, the three of them emerged with several bags in hand. Even John had found a few things and Sam and Dean couldn't help but snicker at the thought of the man lounging on the beach in shorts and a tank top.

After grabbing a few things to throw in the cooler, they headed to the beach, eager to get their vacation started. The first obstacle they came across was trying to find a place to park the Impala. None of them had imagined that the beach would be so busy on a Thursday afternoon. After driving around for almost twenty minutes, John finally found a spot to park.

The beach itself was full of people of all shapes and sizes. Dean and Sam carried the cooler between the two of them, while John carried a blanket and another bag of snacks. Eventually, they found an area big enough to lay out their blanket. A few minutes later, they were sitting on the blanket, looking around at all the people. Dean, of course, kept his eyes on the girls in their skimpy little bikinis.

After almost twenty minutes of just sitting on the blanket, Dean suddenly kicked off his shoes and stood up, heading for the water. "Come on, Sam," he said as he shifted from foot to foot, trying to keep his feet from making contact with the hot sand for too long.

Sam reached behind him and dug around in his backpack. "I'm just gonna stay here and read for a while, Dean."

"What?! No way, Sam! I didn't talk Dad into staying here so you could just sit around and read a book. Get your butt up and let's go. I'm hot and I want to get in the water."

Sam groaned, knowing that his brother wouldn't give up until he gave in and joined him. He put his book away and kicked off his shoes before following Dean.

Unfortunately, Dean was quickly waylaid by a group of girls that were wading in the water. Sam watched as his brother was surrounded by the giggling girls. He didn't know whether to be embarrassed or impressed by his brother at the moment, so he just awkwardly stood there and watched him flirt. Eventually, the girls giggled their goodbyes to Dean, who turned and watched them walk away with a ridiculous smile on his face.

"Are you done being an idiot?" Sam asked when Dean finally turned back to him.

"You're just jealous because they didn't even notice you," Dean teased. "Don't worry, little brother. I'm sure they would have thought you were as cute as a button if they'd noticed you."

Sam shoved Dean as he walked past him. "Jerk!"

"Bitch!" Dean immediately replied. 'C'mon, Sam. It's not my fault that girls find me irresistible. It's just the way it is."

"Whatever."

It took Dean several minutes to get Sam out of the funk he was in. He also had to promise the kid that he could have control of the television when they returned to the motel. Dean resigned himself to the fact that he would be spending the next few nights watching boring documentaries and the nature channel.

Once they got in the water, they spent almost an hour, enjoying the refreshing coolness. John eventually joined them and Sam and Dean took turns jumping on him, trying to dunk him in the water. They succeeded a few times, but more often than not, John was the one dunking them under.

John was just about to suggest that they return to their blankets and eat when it happened. One second, they were laughing and having a good time and the next Dean was yelling loudly and jumping out of the water.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean yelled as he looked down at his leg. "What the hell was that?!"

John was just about to get on the boy about his language, but he noticed a large reddened area on Dean's leg. "What happened?"

"I don't know, but it hurts!"

"It looks like a jellyfish," Sam said. "I just watched a documentary about them a few weeks ago."

"How do you treat it?" Dean asked, his face scrunched up in pain.

Sam was trying to remember what he'd heard about treating a jellyfish sting. "Um, I think it said something about vinegar. And there was something about getting the tentacles off as soon as possible. Oh, and uh….."

"What, Sammy? What else is there?"

"Um, nevermind. I think it's just an old wives tale."

"Some old wives tales are grounded in science, Sam. What did it say?" John kept his eye on Dean as he waited for Sam to answer.

"Well, some people say that if you pee on the site it'll stop hurting…."

"Pee on it?" Dean asked incredulously. "Are you kidding? You want me to pee on my own leg? No way! No way I'm doing that!"

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't work anyway," Sam answered.

Making their way back up the beach, they were soon stopped by an older man and woman sitting on a blanket. "Sorry, we couldn't help but overhear you. Did someone get stung by a jellyfish?" the man asked.

John motioned over to Dean. "My son, Dean. On his leg."

The woman grabbed a nearby bag and quickly stood up. "Oh, come here, dear. I can sort that out for you."

"You're not going to pee on it, are you?" Dean asked pathetically.

"What? Of course not!" she laughed as she dug around in her bag. Seconds later, she pulled out a bottle of vinegar. "This is how you treat a jellyfish sting, sweetie. Peeing on it is just an old wives tale that doesn't really work."

Dean sat down on the couple's blanket and let the woman go to work. By the time she was done, his leg felt so much better.

"There you go. You might want to put a hot compress on it when you get home. That should help. And don't rub at it," she said as she gently swatted Dean's hand away from his leg.

"Thank you," John said as he shook their hands. "For everything."

"You're quite welcome," the woman answered. "James and I have been coming to the beach for almost forty years, so we know what to expect. We're always prepared."

"Thanks again," John said with a smile. He waited for Dean to say his own thanks before they were on their way. They made their way back to their blanket and cooler, eager to dig into the sandwiches they'd packed, but when they got back to where they'd settled in, everything was gone.

"What happened to our stuff?" Sam yelled, realizing that his backpack was gone, too.

"Damn it!" John said.

At the same time, Dean yelled out a "son of a bitch" that made John turn and smack him in the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Dean asked as he glared at his father.

"You know what that was for," John answered before turning and apologizing to a family with small children nearby.

Dean smiled sheepishly at the family and offered up a quiet "sorry."

"Who would steal our stuff?" Sam asked as he looked around.

"Maybe someone who was hungry?" Dean suggested with a smirk.

"Dean, it's not funny. My books were in my backpack."

"Oh, boo hoo…. Little Sammy's books are gone. Call the police, Dad! We can't let them get away with stealing Sam's books."

Sam didn't think it was anything to joke about, so he just glared at his brother. John also gave Dean a look, warning him to stop teasing his brother.

"Let's go," he finally said. Sam and Dean both followed him as he headed back to the car. John suddenly found himself hating the beach for ruining what had, up until just a few minutes before, been a good day for them.

Once they made it back to the car, Dean started laughing again. "Look, Sammy… Dad got a parking ticket!" He snatched the yellow ticket off of the Impala's windshield and danced it around in front of Sam's face.

"Give that to me!" John growled. When Dean didn't immediately hand it over, he smacked him in the back of the head again. Sam laughed at the pitiful look on his brother's face.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Dean asked, echoing his words from the last time his dad had smacked him while he rubbed the back of his head.

"You know what that was for," John said, echoing his own previous answer as he snatched the ticket out of his son's hand.

Sam and Dean both watched as John looked over the ticket. "It says I parked in a no parking zone," he said after reading it. "Do you see any signs saying I couldn't park here?"

The three Winchesters looked around, but didn't find anything. "That's what I thought," John said. He was just about to wad the ticket up and throw it away when he heard someone call out to him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

John, Sam, and Dean turned to find a police officer standing behind them. Dean couldn't keep a laugh from erupting at the sight of the man or at the look on his dad's face. The man was a rather large man wearing a uniform that was way too small. The buttons on the uniform top were straining to pop open and his belly was hanging over the top of his pants. Dean noticed how small the pen the man was holding looked in his beefy hands.

"Hey, there," Dean said as he sauntered over to the man. "You the one that wrote this ticket?"

"Dean…" John said as he grabbed at his son's arm, but missed.

"Yes, I am," the man said as he hefted his pants up by his belt. "This is a no parking zone."

Dean looked around them. "Where is it posted that you can't park here? I don't see a sign."

"It's right there…." The man looked around in confusion when he didn't find what he was looking for. "Wait… it was right there. What happened to it?"

"Well, it's not there now, so….."

The cop walked around the Impala, searching for what he knew should have been there, but wasn't. "This has always been a no parking zone. You can't park here."

"Well, it doesn't seem to be a no parking zone now. Maybe you missed the memo or something?"

John could tell that the cop was getting annoyed. "Dean, that's enough…."

Dean raised his hands up in the air and backed away. The cop turned back to John. "I don't know what happened, but it's your lucky day, I guess."

"Thank you for your time, Officer," John said. "Let's go, boys."

Sam immediately turned and got into the car, but Dean turned back to the man. "You might want to lay off the bacon cheeseburgers, dude. I don't know how many more that uniform can take."

Dean suddenly found himself backed up against the Impala, the officer looming over him. "You sure do have a smart mouth, don't you?" the man asked. "I bet it gets you in a lot of trouble."

"You have no idea," John growled just loud enough for Dean to hear. "Officer, I'm really sorry for my boy's mouth. I'll have a talk with him. Dean, get in the car!"

Dean slithered out from under the man's arm and walked over to the other side of the car. With one last smirk in the man's direction, he opened the door and got in. Sam was snickering in the back seat.

"You're an idjit," Sam laughed. "Now Dad's going to be in a bad mood for the rest of the day."

John got into the car and immediately smacked Dean in the back of the head again. Sam started laughing and couldn't stop.

"Ow! What did you do that for?" Dean asked for the third time.

"Because you're an idjit," John growled. "What the hell were you thinking, Dean?! Drawing attention to yourself like that…."

"C'mon, Dad. He wasn't going to do anything. He's just a parking cop."

"That's not the point. We're supposed to lay low, remember? Drawing attention to yourself like that isn't laying low."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well you just bought yourself some extra training."

"We're on vacation," Dean argued. "We shouldn't have to do _any_ training, Dad."

"You should have thought of that before you decided to mouth off to a cop, boy. Sam and I will be taking a break from training, but you won't. Five miles every morning for the foreseeable future."

Dean groaned and sunk down further in his seat, wondering why he had such a hard time keeping his mouth shut. And why he was the one that had to be stung by a jellyfish.

* * *

Dean spent almost an hour in the bathroom once they got back to the motel. Sam had been knocking on the door for almost fifteen minutes when he finally came out dressed in a long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of sweats.

"What were you doing in there?" Sam asked.

"Nothing. I was just taking a bath."

"You took a bath?" Sam laughed. "Was it a bubble bath, Dean? Did you play with your rubber ducky?'

"Shut up, Sam," Dean snarled.

"What, you can tease me, but I can't tease you? Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's it precisely. So shut up and get out of my way, bitch."

"You shut up," Sam answered. "Jerk!"

"Hey, knock it off," John nearly yelled, knowing he needed to put a stop to their arguing before it got out of hand. "I thought you were just going to take a quick shower, Dean. We've been ready to go get dinner for almost an hour."

"You guys go on without me," Dean said as he walked stiffly over to the bed.

"What's wrong?" John asked as he looked at his son suspiciously.

"Nothing. I'm just not that hungry."

Sam and John exchanged a look.

"Yeah, right," Sam said. "_You're _not hungry."

John walked over to stand in front of his son, who was sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed. "What's going on, Dean? You look like you're in pain."

"I'm fine," Dean replied. "Just that damn jellyfish sting. And I think I just got a little too much sun."

John suddenly realized just how red Dean's face actually was. The boy had fairer skin than either his dad or his brother and he tended to be much more likely to sunburn. John mentally kicked himself for not thinking of buying some sunscreen. Without a word, he reached down and lifted Dean's shirt up, whistling at the fiery red skin he saw. "Damn! I bet that's pretty uncomfortable."

"I'm fine," Dean said again. "I just don't feel like going out."

John turned to look at his youngest son, not surprised at all when he didn't look sunburned. Sam had always tanned easily in the sun and his skin was now a nice golden tan.

"Okay, well Sam and I will go get some dinner, Dean. And maybe some aloe or something."

"Maybe I should stay," Sam said, feeling guilty once he saw how sunburned his brother was. "In case he needs something."

"I don't need a babysitter, Sam. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, but you're really sunburned, Dean. You're going to be feeling really bad in a few hours."

"I'm fine. Just leave me alone."

Sam stepped over to their first aid kit and took out some pills. "At least take some Tylenol, okay? You're going to need it."

Dean took the offered pills from his brother. "Thanks, Sammy."

"I'll bring you back some 7-Up, okay? And some M&Ms." Sam knew that his brother liked to drink 7-Up when he wasn't feeling good. And he always liked his peanut M&Ms, too.

John ushered Sam out of the motel room, anxious to get what they needed and get back to Dean. The boy really needed some lotion to put on his tender skin.

When they returned a little over an hour later, Dean was asleep, but both Sam and John could see that he was shivering. John stepped over to the bed and placed his hand on Dean's forehead, not surprised to find him burning up with fever.

John gently shook Dean's leg to wake him up.

"Dad? What's going on?" Dean asked in confusion.

"Hey, Dean. We brought some dinner back for you."

"I'm not hungry," Dean instantly answered.

"Okay, but I need you to sit up and drink some fluids. You need to stay hydrated, son."

Dean slowly sat up, his face grimacing as his tight skin stretched with the movement. "This sucks out loud," he said, causing Sam to snort.

"We brought you some aloe vera gel, Dean. It'll help soothe you a little."

"I don't need soothing," Dean growled. "I just wanna go to sleep."

It took John handing out a direct order before Dean agreed to put the gel on his hot skin. "It feels all sticky," he grumbled. "And it smells funny."

"You'll feel better, though," Sam said as he finished gently rubbing some of the lotion on his brother's back and shoulders.

"Whatever. Are you done yet?"

"Yeah." Sam put the lid back on the bottle of gel and set it down on the bedside table. "I'll put some more on you in the morning, okay?"

Dean gave his brother a sad look. "Thanks, Sammy," he said in a tired voice.

After drinking a little more of the 7-Up his brother brought him, Dean slowly sank back onto the bed. Just minutes later, he was sound asleep again.

* * *

The next few days were spent nursing Dean's sunburn and trying to keep the normally rambunctious nineteen year old occupied and out of trouble. The first two days were miserable for everyone, because Dean was still feeling awful enough to not want to do anything, but not too awful that he couldn't complain how bored he was.

Sam and John were just about at their wit's end trying to keep Dean from going crazy, but by Monday, Dean was feeling well enough to leave the motel room. He wanted to go back to the beach to check out the girls in bikinis, but John refused to allow it. After an argument that left Dean with a slightly bruised ego, they decided to leave Orlando and start making their way to Ohio. None of them could say that they were actually sad to be saying goodbye to the state of Florida.

The trip started out fine with Dean riding shotgun and Sam sitting in the back seat. Dean was happily listening to music, but Sam and John both watched as he shifted positions frequently. He was feeling much better, but his back was still super sensitive to anything rubbing against it. He also looked awful with all the peeling skin on his face and shoulders.

It wasn't until they reached Georgia that something happened. They had only been driving about three and half hours when the rain started falling. At first, it wasn't bad, but within another half an hour, it was falling so hard that John was having a hard time seeing the road.

They had just driven into a small town called Ashburn when the first tornado warning came over the radio. Looking up at the sky, they were shocked to see how dark and stormy it looked.

"I think we need to find a place to wait this out," John eventually said.

As they drove through the town, they couldn't help but notice that the streets were completely empty. John was thinking hard, trying to figure out what to do, when they heard a siren coming up behind them. Looking in the rearview mirror, John was surprised to see a police car behind him. He slowly pulled over, wondering what he had done to warrant a traffic stop.

The three of them watched as the officer got out of the car and made his way to John's window.

"Good afternoon, Officer. Did I do something wrong?" John asked with a smile.

"Oh, no, sir. You didn't do anything. I just wanted to warn you that there have been tornado sightings nearby. It would probably be a good idea if you found some place safe to wait out the storm."

"Any ideas where we could go? We're just driving through and we don't really know the place."

"The library is just two blocks that way and they have a storm shelter. It's all battened down, but I'll call ahead and tell them that you're coming. If you want to just follow me, I'll take you there."

The officer went back to his car and seconds later, he pulled out in front of them. John quickly pulled out to follow and just minutes later they pulled up in front of the library.

"Let's go, boys," John said as he opened the door. The sky had darkened significantly and the wind was blowing much harder. They also noticed that everything had become so much louder around them. In fact, it seemed like the wind was roaring.

Sam quickly followed John who was following the police officer. Neither of them noticed that Dean wasn't as quick to follow until they were about to enter the library. Turning to check that his boys were behind him, John was shocked to see Dean still standing out by the car, looking up at the sky.

"Dean! What are you doing?! Let's go!"

"I can't leave her, Dad! What if something happens to her?" Dean was obviously yelling, but his words barely carried through the wind.

"Dean! Come on!" John yelled, but Dean still stood by the car.

"Dean! Please!" It wasn't until Sam's voice carried over to him that he moved away from the car and towards the library. He hated leaving the Impala, but he could tell that the tornado would be touching down soon. As he went through the library doors, he prayed that nothing would happen to his car.

They made it inside the storm shelter just in time. Dean, Sam, and John huddled together in the corner of the shelter. Of course, Dean and John made sure that Sam was in between them. Sam was hanging on tightly to his brother, who was hanging on just as tightly to him. Dean's sunburn was all but forgotten in the midst of the fact that they were hiding out with a group of people they didn't know.

Looking around, Dean noticed that the other people were divided up into small groups. There were at least three families with small children huddled together and a few couples hanging onto each other. In one corner, the police officer was sitting next to an elderly woman, holding her hand as he talked quietly to her. Dean noticed a rather pretty young woman sitting across the room by herself. He could tell that she was terrified as she looked around the room, so without a word, he let go of Sam and stood up, making his way over to the young lady.

She watched him somewhat warily as he knelt down in front of her. "Hey, my name's Dean," he said gently. "What's yours?"

"Lana," she replied shakily.

"It's nice to meet you, Lana. What brings you here?"

Lana laughed nervously, but a particularly loud crashed stopped her.

"Hey, it's okay. We're safe in here, okay?"

"How do you know?" she whimpered.

"I just do. These shelters are made specifically for situations like this, so we'll be fine." Dean had no idea if what he was saying was true. He had no idea how old the shelter was or if it was made to withstand an actual tornado, but he was just trying to make the girl feel better. Looking over at his brother and father, he could tell that Sam was on the verge of freaking out. _The kid had always been a little bit afraid of storms._

"Hey, see those two over there? That's my dad and my little brother, Sam. Sam's afraid of storms and he's probably really freaking out because I'm over here. Why don't we head over there and sit with them. That way he'll calm down a little." Dean stood up and held his hand out for her, surprised when she immediately grabbed it. A few seconds later, he had settled her down next to Sam, who was already looking a little less panicked to have his brother back.

They sat like that for almost twenty minutes before the all clear was given over the police radio. Apparently, the tornado had touched down in several places, but was now gone. Dean stood up and helped Lana to her feet, holding her steady until she could stand on her own. Sam was watching him closely, but had one of his own hands on Lana, too.

They all walked up out of the shelter and into the library, amazed to see how much damage had been done. Bookshelves were toppled over and there were books and magazines everywhere. Most of the windows had been blown out and there was a large tree limb blocking the main door. John and Sam moved forward to try to move the limb out of the way, but it was too big and too heavy. Making their way back to the group, they all headed to the back of the library, hoping to find the back door free from damage.

Luckily, the door was opened easily and they all made their way out of the library. Dean immediately took off around the building, leaving Sam to hold onto Lana. John followed his oldest, knowing how upset the boy would be if he found the Impala totaled. Fortunately, it seemed like it was pretty much intact. There were a few scratches on the hood of the car and the windshield was cracked, but overall she was in good condition.

"Oh, thank God you're all right, baby," Dean said as he walked around the car.

John laughed at the look on his son's face, but he was thankful, too. The Impala was way more than just a car to the Winchester family, after all.

After spending a few more minutes taking in the scene around them, John decided that it was time to load up and leave town. They were just about to climb into the car when Lana called out to Dean.

"Dean, wait!" Dean turned and watched as Lana and an older woman walked towards him. "Dean, this is my mom, Cathy. She was grocery shopping down the road while I was in the library, so she had to take shelter there."

"Hi, ma'am," Dean said politely.

Cathy grabbed Dean's hand and held onto it tightly. "Thank you so much for looking out for my Lana. She told me what you did for her."

"I didn't really do anything," Dean said.

"Yes, you did. She told me how scared she was and that you and your family helped her feel less scared. You'll never know how much it means to me to know that she wasn't alone during all of that, so thank you."

"You're welcome," Dean finally said.

Cathy stood up on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on Dean's cheek. Dean could feel himself blushing a little when Lana did the same. A few seconds later, he was blushing even more, though. He had just turned around to get into the car when Cathy called his name again.

"Dean, wait a minute! I have something for you." She was rummaging around in her purse.

"Ma'am, that's not necessary," Dean said, thinking that she was looking for money to pay him. "You don't owe me anything."

Cathy continued to rummage through the large bag she was carrying with a look of intense concentration on her face. Finally, she pulled her hand out and held it out to Dean.

"Here you go, sweetie. This should help your condition."

"My condition?" Dean asked in confusion.

"Yes. I sell Avon and we have this great facial cream that's wonderful for skin conditions such as yours."

Dean felt himself turning red as he looked at the small jar of face cream. He could hear his father and brother laughing behind him and he wanted nothing more than to get in the Impala and drive away without them. He knew they wouldn't let him live any of the last few minutes down.

After thanking the woman for her thoughtfulness, Dean climbed into the car and faced forward. When John and Sam finally got into the car, Dean kept looking forward, completely ignoring the amused looks they were giving him.

"Let's go," he said firmly.

"Wait. Don't you want to take a few minutes to put on some of your face cream? It should help your condition, remember?"

John and Sam both started laughing again at the look on Dean's face.

"Shut up," Dean yelled at the two of them, which only made them laugh harder.

Dean hunched himself down in the seat, not caring that his back was killing him. He looked sourly out the passenger window, trying to tune out the sounds of laughter that were filling the car. Eventually, John and Sam stopped laughing and John started up the car.

"Let's get this Winchester Family Vacation back on the road."

Neither John nor Sam could be sure, but they thought they heard Dean mumble something under his breath. Something that sounded suspiciously like "Winchester Family Vacations suck."

Dean rolled his eyes as they both started laughing again.

* * *

Author's note: Poor Dean. I feel like he definitely got the bad end of that vacation, don't you? Sunburns, jellyfish stings, smacks on the head from his dad, and humiliation in front of a cute girl? Definitely not Dean's week, lol.

Thanks so much for reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story.


	3. Chapter 3

Winchester Family Vacations

Chapter 3

* * *

Sam and Dean arrived at the Heceta Head Lighthouse that evening at six o'clock. The Lighthouse and the Bed and Breakfast were both situated on a cliff with a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean. The boys quickly grabbed their bags before making their way into what used to be the Light Keeper's house.

Having stopped at a little town called Yachats for dinner, Sam and Dean were both rather anxious to settle in and have a beer or two. Sam checked in at the desk and was pleasantly surprised to receive such a warm welcome from the middle-aged lady checking them in.

After signing their names in the guest book, Sarah led them up the stairs to their room.

"You'll be staying in Victoria's room. It's one of our most popular rooms and is rarely available on such short notice. Lucky for you two, we had a cancellation for the next week."

"Yeah, lucky for us," Dean muttered, not quite as taken by the Inn's old charm as his brother was.

Sam nudged his brother with his elbow before turning to thank Sarah. Once they were alone in the room, he turned on his brother. "What is wrong with you?" he asked in exasperation. "This place is nicer than most of the places we stay in."

"There are doilies and lace all around, Sam. And I bet if we look hard enough, we'll probably find some old, creepy dolls somewhere."

"I think it's charming, Dean. And it's an old house. The plaque downstairs said it was built in 1894 and that this used to be the Light Keeper's house. It's a historical landmark."

"How did I end up with such a nerdy brother," Dean laughed.

"I guess the same way I ended up with such a pain in the ass brother," Sam replied. After a quick exploration of the room, Sam grabbed his jacket and the six-pack of beer they brought with them. "Let's go check out the lighthouse before it gets dark, Dean. The plaque said the lighthouse has the strongest light on the Oregon coast."

"Well, then maybe we should wait until it gets dark, so we can see the light."

"Come on, Dean. Let's just go."

"Fine, but let me change out of this shirt first. I spilled clam chowder on it and it smells funny." Sam waited as Dean took off his amulet before peeling off his shirt. The amulet had gotten some clam chowder on it, too, so he needed to clean it off. He laid the amulet on the table next to the bed, planning on cleaning it when they got back, since Sam was in so much of a hurry to leave. A few minutes later, he had thrown on a sweatshirt and was ready to head out the door.

"Let's go, Samuel. Let's go check out this lighthouse of yours." He wouldn't admit it, but he was excited by the prospect of seeing it, too. He just really didn't want his brother to know.

* * *

They spent almost an hour walking around the lighthouse and then made their way down to the beach. It was a rather small beach, but there were only two other people on it at the moment. After finding a log to sit on, they both took off their boots and wiggled their toes into the cool sand. This beach was nothing like the Florida beach they'd gone to ten years ago.

The sounds of the waves breaking on the small beach was calming and soothing to the two tired hunters. The wind was blowing a fine mist of sea spay into their faces, but both Sam and Dean found that to be refreshing, as well.

It wasn't until Dean let out a rather uncharacteristic sigh that Sam realized just how much he was enjoying the experience.

"This is a lot different from that time we spent at the beach in Florida, isn't it?" he asked his brother as he brought the beer bottle up to his mouth. "Remember that, Dean?"

"How could I forget?! Worst vacation ever."

"It wasn't that bad," Sam argued.

"Easy for you to say, Sam. You weren't the one that got sunburned and stung by a damn jellyfish, remember? And you weren't the one that Dad kept slapping in the back of the head for no good reason."

Sam laughed at the petulant look on his brother's face. "I'm pretty sure he had good reason to smack you, Dean. If I remember right, you mouthed off to a cop. And you said some choice words on a beach full of little kids."

"Still don't see what the big deal was. Not like that rent-a-cop was going to do anything about it. And I'm sure those kids heard worse stuff on the playground at school," Dean answered as he absent-mindedly rubbed the back of his head.

Sam suddenly started laughing, causing Dean to look at him suspiciously. "Remember how you thought that lady was going to pee on your leg?"

"That was your fault! You're the one that said peeing on a jellyfish bite took the sting away!"

Sam laughed even harder. "Oh man, the look on your face was priceless."

Dean glared at his brother. "I'm glad the memory of my suffering is so humorous to you, Sam."

"C'mon, Dean….you have to admit that it's pretty funny…."

Dean took a swig of his beer before he started laughing with his brother. "I guess it was pretty funny. But then there was that tornado, remember?"

"Yeah, that was pretty scary, actually," Sam admitted, remembering how they had to hide in the library's storm shelter/basement.

"Hey, remember that cute girl that was stuck down there with us? What was her name?"

"I can't remember," Sam admitted. "Laura? Lola? Something like that, I think."

Dean stared out at the ocean for several long seconds before finally coming up with it. "Lana!" he said with a smile. "It was Lana."

"Yeah, that's it. I wonder what ever happened to her…."

"She's probably still living in that little town, married with two and a half kids, a mortgage, and a job that she hates."

Sam didn't miss the way his brother shuddered at the thought of all that. Realizing that his brother looked like he was about to get into a funk, Sam continued.

"Remember how her mom thought you had some kind of skin condition and gave you that face cream?" he laughed.

"Laugh all you want, Sammy-boy, but that lotion worked miracles on my face. And if I remember, your face needed a miracle around that time, too, pimple face. You should've been nicer to me. I might've shared."

"My face wasn't that bad," Sam grumped. "Not everyone is blessed with good genes like you, Dean."

"Don't I know it, Sammy?! It's lonely at the top," Dean laughed.

Sam chose to ignore his big brother, focusing his attention instead on the beautiful sunset they were watching. After a few minutes of silence, he looked over at Dean, surprised to see the look of what could only be described as contentment on his face.

"This is nice," Sam finally said once his gaze was back on the setting sun.

"Yeah, it is," Dean answered with a small smile.

* * *

After spending another hour on the beach, Dean finally stood up. "It's getting a little cold. Maybe we should make our way back up."

Sam stood up and shook the loose sand off of his pants. "It feels good, though, doesn't it? Refreshing."

"I haven't breathed in air this fresh since that week we spent up in the Poconos."

Sam looked over at his brother, finding it hard to believe that he had brought up that wretched week. Sam didn't really remember it much, but he knew that Dean chose not to ever even mention what had happened. In fact, it had been forbidden conversation for almost as long as Sam could remember. So, he was even more surprised when Dean continued.

"Do you remember that week, Sam? You were what…maybe six? I know it was right after we left Pastor Jim's. We had to take one of his cars because there was something wrong with the Impala."

"I was five," Sam said quietly. "I remember I had just started kindergarten and Dad came to get us at school the day we were having our class picture done. I begged him to let me stay for the picture, but he just picked me up and carried me out. I was even going to get to hold the classroom sign for the picture."

Dean laughed. "You were so excited to take your class picture. I remember you woke up extra early that day and made me help you comb your hair. You were mad at Dad because you wanted to wear a shirt and tie that day, but he wouldn't buy you one."

"Hey, I was gonna hold the sign. I wanted to look presentable," Sam laughed. There was a long pause before he continued. "Did you ever think about the fact that we were never in any of our class pictures? I mean, Dad had a knack for either enrolling us too late or pulling us out too early to ever get to be in one. All those schools we went to and there isn't any proof that the Winchester brothers were there."

"Oh, there's proof, Sammy," Dean laughed. "Remember that school in Iowa? The principal hated me, so on our last day I carved our names into the wall behind his desk. He shouldn't have left me alone in his office."

"But, I bet you didn't carve Sam and Dean _Winchester_, did you? I'm sure it was some other name, right? Like Sam and Dean Baker. Or Sam and Dean Turner. Something generic and forgettable."

"I guess you're right. But, does it really matter? We weren't ever there long enough to feel like we belonged anyway, right?"

"I guess."

"So, do you remember that trip to the Poconos at all?"

"Not really. I remember that it was a long drive and I remember that the place we stayed in was a dump. As usual."

"We got lost on the way there. Dad was pissed, too. He kept cussing and complaining about how Bobby had given him awful directions. You were tired and cranky and I was carsick from the curvy, winding roads we were on. Dad had to pull over a few times so I could throw up, which I'm sure pissed him off even more."

"You couldn't help that you got carsick, Dean."

"Oh, I know. And I don't think Dad was really pissed about that. He was just pissed in general. And the place we stayed in wasn't really a dump. It was just an old hotel and we were just lucky enough to be in a room with a burst water pipe. Everything got soaked and whatever Dad was researching at the time was ruined. All of his papers and books were drenched. Luckily, his journal was still in Pastor Jim's car."

"What were we doing there?"

"Dad was on a hunt. I don't remember what for, though. And Bobby was going to meet him there and watch over us while Dad worked. I remember Dad and Bobby fighting because Bobby didn't think it was safe to leave us alone in the hotel. I got the impression that whatever Dad was hunting liked to prey on children. And Bobby said that we needed a break. A chance to have fun like normal kids for a change."

"So Bobby was there?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? He showed up right after the pipe burst and helped Dad load everything up. We had to leave the hotel and Bobby quickly found us one close by. It was actually a nice hotel with an indoor pool and everything."

"I remember that!" Sam said excitedly. "That's where we learned how to swim, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Kind of."

"Wait. Something happened, didn't it? I can't really remember what it was, though."

Dean stopped walking and turned to look at his brother. "That was the first time I almost let you die, Sammy."

Sam stopped walking, too. He looked over at his brother, but could barely make out his face in the pale moonlight. "What does that mean?"

"I'm glad you don't remember, because it's something I'll never forget. And believe me, I would if I could."

"What happened, Dean?"

Dean had a weird look on his face as he remembered the events, making Sam wish they'd never started this conversation.

"We had a great week. Uncle Bobby took us hiking and fishing. He even took us to a rodeo. I remember you suddenly wanted to be a bull rider and it was all you talked about for the whole week. Bobby even bought you a cowboy hat."

Sam laughed. "I remember that hat. I wonder whatever happened to it."

"We accidentally left it in a motel room somewhere. You cried for hours when you realized it was gone and I begged Dad to go back for it, but he wouldn't. Said we didn't have time to waste on some stupid cowboy hat."

Sam couldn't help but think that that was definitely something their dad would have said.

"Anyway, it was a great week," Dean continued. "Every evening, Bobby would take us down to the pool and try to teach us how to swim. The hotel had those little arm floatie things and Bobby told us we had to wear them if we wanted to get into the pool. I hated them, though. You didn't mind them, at all. I begged Bobby to let me try to swim without them, but he kept saying no. Said I was too new of a swimmer to not have them on."

Dean started walking again and Sam quickly followed, eager to get to the part of the story where Dean almost let him die. He knew that wasn't really what happened, but he wanted to hear Dean's viewpoint.

"The night before Dad was supposed to come home, Bobby wasn't feeling good. I remember I begged him to let us go to the pool one last time, but he said no, that we had to stay in the motel room. Eventually, both of you dozed off on the couch and I decided to go to the pool on my own."

Sam was starting to feel the vaguest of memories start to form in his head.

"I probably spent at least half an hour jumping into the pool and swimming around, proud of myself for doing it without the arm floaties. Eventually, another kid showed up and we started playing some game he taught me. I didn't even see you come into the pool area, Sam. All I remember is hearing a loud splash and looking over to see you struggling in the water. I remember it took me a few seconds to figure out that it was you and that you weren't able to keep your head above water. You were probably only thirty feet away from me, but it felt like it took me forever to get to you. And once I did….. well, I tried to pull you out of the water, but you were flailing around so much and I started to find myself having a hard time keeping my _own_ head above water, too. Luckily, the kid I was playing with… his dad showed up and immediately saw what was happening. He jumped in and pulled us both out of the water."

"How do I not remember that?" Sam asked. Dean didn't answer.

"Anyway, once we both were breathing easier, the man took us back to the hotel room. Bobby answered the door and if the situation hadn't been so serious, I would have laughed at the look on his face. He was completely confused to see the two of us soaking wet, standing beside some stranger. I remember just standing there as the man told Bobby what had happened. And I can remember the look on Bobby's face.

At first he was super concerned. He checked us out from head to toe, asked the man a few more questions, and then finally thanked the man and closed the door. Once the door was closed, that concern shifted into complete and utter fury. Up until that point, I'd never seen Uncle Bobby so mad about something."

"I bet. So, what did he do?"

"What did he do? He busted my butt, that's what he did. I didn't think he was ever going to stop, Sammy. And all I could think was that I deserved what he was dishing out and so much more. You almost died and it was all my fault."

"It wasn't all your fault, Dean. I was five years old. I'm pretty sure I knew that what I was doing was wrong."

"You were my responsibility, Sam. And I didn't watch out for you like I was supposed to."

"Yeah, well like I said, I'm sure I knew what I was doing was wrong. I knew I shouldn't have snuck out of the hotel room. I'm pretty sure I knew what would happen if I did, too." Dean didn't say anything, so Sam continued. "What _did_ happen, anyway? I'm sure Bobby punished me, too."

""I told him that I made you come with me. I told him that you didn't want to, but I made you, so you wouldn't wake him up while I was gone. And I told him you fell into the pool."

"And he believed you?"

"I guess, because he didn't punish you." Dean was quiet for the rest of the hike up the trail. Once they made it back to their room, he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at his brother. "Hey, do you sometimes think that maybe we're cursed?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked even though he knew where this conversation was going.

"I mean, we can't take a simple vacation without things going wrong."

"That was just an accident, Dean."

"I know, Sam. What I'm trying to say is that every "vacation" we've ever taken turned into a ridiculous mess."

"I bet most people would say that about their vacations."

"Maybe. Do you remember what happened the next day after the pool incident?"

Sam tried to think back, but couldn't come up with anything.

"The next morning we went down to get some of the free breakfast the hotel put on. The little dining area was crowded and you were mad because they were already out of waffles. Bobby made us sit down at the table while he went and filled up our plates with whatever was left and while he was gone, you climbed up onto your knees and leaned on the table with your hands. The table legs must have been weak, because two of them gave way and you fell forward. As you fell, you knocked Bobby's coffee cup over and right onto my arm. I tried to catch you as you fell, but all I did was lose my own balance and I ended up landing right on top of you. I cracked my head on my own chair that had tipped over and you had your front tooth knocked out. Bobby had to stitch up my head. I can't believe you don't remember any of that!"

"I actually do remember having my first took knocked out," Sam laughed.

"Yeah, well like I said, we must be cursed."

"Nothing has happened on this vacation," Sam answered.

"Sam, it's only been a day," Dean groaned.

"It'll be fine, Dean. What could possibly go wrong?"

Dean groaned again and hauled himself to his feet. He quickly stripped off his sweatshirt and pants and made his way to the bathroom. Sam listened as the shower turned on and seconds later, he heard his brother's slightly off-key singing of some Metallica song. Just as he was about to pound on the door and remind his brother not to use up all of the hot water, the water shut off. Seconds later, the door opened and steam billowed out into the small room. Dean was standing in the doorway, wearing only a towel.

"Hey, Sammy…. Hand me my amulet, will you? I forgot that I took it off."

Sam knew how much that amulet meant to his brother, so he didn't hesitate to get up to get it. He remembered Dean putting it on the table by the bed, but when he looked for it, it wasn't there.

"Where did you put it?" he asked Dean who was now brushing his teeth.

"It's right there on the table by the bed," Dean said around the toothbrush in his mouth.

"Right where? I don't see it."

Dean spit out his toothpaste and quickly washed off his face. "It's right there, Sam. I put it right on the table."

"It's not here, Dean," Sam said again.

Dean stepped over to the bed and looked down at the table.

"What the hell?!" he asked.

* * *

Author's note: Thanks so much for reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

Winchester Family Vacations

Chapter 4

* * *

Dean looked all around the small room, his agitation growing with each second that went by without him finding the amulet. Sam was moving around the room to help him look, but he could tell that the amulet just wasn't there.

"Are you sure you left it here? Maybe you lost it on the beach or something?"

"No. I'm sure, Sam. I took it off because it had some clam chowder on it, remember? I was going to clean it off when we got back. Where the hell could it be?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone came into the room while we were gone. Did you request the turndown service?"

Dean looked at his brother like he'd grown another head. "Did I request the what? The _turndown service?_ I don't even know what the hell that is, Sam."

"Okay, okay. Well, then maybe someone just broke in?"

"The door was locked. And I left my wallet here, too. It's still here." Dean pointed to his wallet that he had thrown on the bed before they left the room. He picked it up and checked to see if anything had been taken. "The money's still here."

Sam didn't know what to say to his brother, so he just kept his mouth shut and watched as Dean looked around the room for the third time. Once he was done, he plopped down on the bed hard enough to make it bang against the wall.

"Dean! You're gonna put a hole in the wall if you're not careful."

"I don't care, Sammy! Someone stole my amulet!"

"We'll find it. There aren't very many other guests here, so the suspect pool won't be very big," Sam said with a laugh.

"It's not funny, Sam. I want it back."

"I know. And we'll find it, I promise. But for now, why don't we try to get some sleep. It's been a long day."

Dean didn't have the will to argue with his brother, thinking that it had indeed been a long day. After changing out of his clothes and into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, he climbed into the bed closest to the door. Sam quickly changed and climbed into the other bed. Dean was just about to fall asleep when Sam's voice broke the silence.

"This is nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "This bed is pretty comfortable, actually."

"No, I mean it's nice to be taking some time off. For once, we don't have to get up early to do anything. We can sleep in as late as we want. The brochure said that breakfast was at eight, but if we miss that, there's also a brunch at eleven. That means we can sleep until at least ten-thirty."

Dean doubted that either one of them would sleep that late, but it _was_ nice to think that they could if they wanted to. Suddenly, the idea of spending a few days at such a nice little place was super appealing to him.

"Yeah, it _is _nice to maybe take off a few days, I guess. We deserve it, don't we? After that last job?"

"I'd say we do. Lucky for us, that guy had connections. How often does that happen?"

_Not often enough_, Dean thought to himself. But, he could remember one little vacation that hadn't turned out so well, thanks to some guy's _"connections."_

* * *

Dean was thirteen that summer and Sam was nine. They had just finished the school year in a small town outside of Tuscaloosa and were ready to leave Alabama. Dean hated the school he'd spent the last six weeks in and was eager to forget everything about the small town. Sam hadn't really minded the elementary school, but he hated the small town, too. Other than the park that was overgrown with weeds, the small town really didn't offer much in the way of entertainment for kids their age.

So, when John showed up after a hunt and told them to pack up, they both jumped up and packed as fast as they could. Neither one of them failed to notice the way John was limping nor the fact that he was holding his ribs tightly. It wasn't until they were in the Impala and traveling down the road, though, that either of them thought to ask where they were going.

"We're heading to Texas, boys. Bobby told me about a Hunter's meeting he's setting up outside of San Antonio and he wants me to be there. Seems there's a pretty large number of werewolves in the area and we're going to be teaming up to take care of them."

"How soon do we need to be there?" Dean asked. He was hoping that they wouldn't have to drive straight through, knowing that Sam would be bored within a few hours and it would be up to him to entertain the kid.

"The meeting isn't until next week. So, I thought we'd maybe take a few days off. How does that sound?"

Sam and Dean shared a look, thinking that it actually sounded crazy. _John Winchester never took days off. _

"Sounds good, Dad. But, what are we going to do until then?" Dean asked.

"Well, Pastor Jim knows a guy that knows a guy that has a cabin on a lake. Thought maybe we could do some swimming and fishing for a few days."

Both Sam and Dean started to get excited about the prospects of spending a few days at a lake like a normal family. Sam wasn't really into fishing, but he figured he could take a book to read while the other two fished. And Dean was hoping that maybe there would be some cute girls at the lake. All in all, they were both looking forward to a bit of a vacation.

* * *

Luckily, John wasn't in the mood to drive straight through, so they stopped frequently for breaks. They even stopped for the night at a motel with a swimming pool, and even though it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months, Sam and Dean spent several hours swimming around and cooling off.

The next morning they had a quick breakfast and were on the road again before nine o'clock. After driving almost six more hours, they arrived at a place called Calaveras Lake. It took them almost an hour to find the hidden driveway that led to the cabin where they would be staying for the next week. The driveway was almost a half a mile long and when they finally arrived at the cabin, they couldn't help but feel a let-down.

"It's a shack," Dean said immediately, as he eyed the small cabin that looked like a strong wind would knock it over.

"It's not that bad," John said a little uncertainly.

"Dad, it's a piece of…."

John cut him off before he could finish what he was about to say. "Watch your mouth, Dean," he warned.

"I didn't say anything," Dean said defensively, which was true, even though he would have if his dad hadn't interrupted.

"You were going to," John answered.

"Dad, are you sure this is the right place?" Sam asked quietly. "Maybe you got the address wrong."

John looked down at the piece of paper he was holding. "No, this is it. Come on, boys…. It's not that bad."

"Yeah, it is. We'll probably get tetanus or something if we go in there," Dean griped.

John knew he was about to lose it with his oldest, so he turned the car off and opened the door. "Grab your gear, boys," he said as he stretched his legs. "And Dean? Grab mine while you're at it."

Dean rolled his eyes and Sam punched him in the ribs. "Knock it off," Sam whispered. "You're gonna put him in a bad mood."

Dean glanced over at his dad, hoping that he hadn't seen him roll his eyes, and then looked sheepishly back at his brother. Without another word or eye roll, he got out of the car and went around to the trunk. Sam followed him and just a minute later, they were saddled down with their duffles. John was already making his way up the steps and into the cabin.

* * *

Once they were inside, they were a little surprised to see that it wasn't that bad. The rugs on the floor were threadbare and there was a thick layer of dust everywhere, but it didn't look like it was all going to disintegrate at any time.

"This isn't too bad," John said as he put his weapons bag down on the couch. After quickly looking through all the rooms, he turned to his boys. "Okay, you two take the bedroom at the end of the hall. I'll take the one on the right. The bathroom is on the left. Go get unpacked and throw on your swimming shorts. We'll go check the lake out."

Sam and Dean ran off down the hall, but stopped after John yelled at them to stop running. Several minutes later, they came back into the living room, ready to head out.

"Dad, we shoulda brought some sunscreen. Dean's gonna burn."

John cursed himself for not thinking of that. "Dean, leave your shirt on for now. I'll pick up some sunscreen for you tomorrow."

"I hate swimming with a shirt on," Dean whined.

"Yeah, well I bet you hate being sunburned even more, don't you?"

"Yes, sir," Dean agreed.

"Okay, then…. We won't stay out too long today, anyway."

Sam and Dean followed John down a path that was supposed to take them to the lake. John had no idea how long the path was, just that the man had said that it "wasn't that far." Almost fifteen minutes later, they turned a corner in the path and found the lake before them. There was a small dock at the end of the path and it didn't take the boys long at all to take off running and jump into the lake. John wasn't very happy with them for not checking things out before they jumped in, though. Calling them out of the water, he spent almost ten minutes chewing them out and lecturing them on the dangers of doing what they did.

Eventually, after double checking that the area was indeed safe, John let them go. Sam and Dean both immediately ran back to the end of the dock and jumped in. They spent almost an hour jumping in and out of the lake before John finally called them out. He'd spent most of the hour sitting on the edge of the dock, dipping his feet in the water, and watching his boys act like normal boys. And he loved every minute of it. At one point, Dean had enticed him into the water, but he couldn't do much more than tread water, since his ribs were still hurting.

Once they were back at the cabin, John sent them to get cleaned up while he put together a few sandwiches from the few groceries they had. After dinner, they played a few card games and eventually, John sent them to bed.

* * *

Sam and Dean woke up the next morning, eager to get back to the lake. They weren't happy at all when John told them they would have to wait. After breakfast, he sat them down and set out a few rules they were to abide by while they were there. Dean wanted to scoff at the rules, thinking that they were ridiculous, but he didn't. Plus, he thought that the rules were probably a good idea for his little brother.

_Never go anywhere alone. Never go into the lake without John being there. Watch out for snakes. Watch out for poison oak. Watch out for wild animals. Don't get lost. _

Dean definitely thought those were rules that Sam needed to follow, but not him. He was thirteen. Practically an adult. Unfortunately, John Winchester didn't feel the same.

After they were done eating breakfast, John told them that they were going back to the nearest town to get some supplies. Dean didn't want to go and begged his dad to let him stay. Sam wanted to go, but when he found out that Dean wasn't going, he wanted to stay, too. John wasn't sure it was a good idea to leave them there, but he finally agreed and as he got into the Impala, he leaned out the window, reminding them once more to follow the rules. And he reminded Dean to watch out for Sammy.

Once John had been gone for a while, Dean stood up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked as he jumped up to follow.

"Back to the lake," Dean said as he kept walking.

"Dean, Dad said we couldn't."

"No, he didn't," Dean answered. "He said we couldn't go _into_ the lake. He didn't say we couldn't go _to _the lake."

"But he said we couldn't go anywhere alone!"

"We're not alone. There are two of us, Sam. That's not alone, is it?"

Sam looked thoughtfully at his brother. "I don't think that's what he meant, Dean."

"Yeah, but that's what he said." Dean kept on walking, not wanting to give in to his brother's concern. "Come on, Sam. We'll be back before he is anyway."

Sam wanted to argue, but they were already well on the way to the lake anyway. Once they got there, they sat down on the end of the dock and relaxed. Dean really wanted to jump in, but he wasn't stupid. Instead, they just sat and stared at the water, relishing the slight breeze that rippled the water a little.

Dean was just going to suggest that they go back when they heard voices coming from the left of them. Quickly standing up, they waited to see who it was and just a few seconds later, three young girls came off a nearby path and stepped onto the dock.

Sam couldn't keep from groaning when he heard the girls giggling to each other at the sight of his brother. He also couldn't keep from groaning when he saw the goofy look on his brother's face.

"Hey," Dean said as he waved to the girls.

"Hey," all three of them answered, still giggling. Sam couldn't figure out what they were giggling about, but he knew it was because of Dean. Girls always did that, for some reason.

One of the girls stepped towards them, her eyes never leaving Dean. "I'm Holly. And this is Nicole and Tyler."

"Tyler? That's a boy's name," Sam laughed.

"Sam…."

"Well, it is," Sam said.

"That's not very nice," Holly scolded Sam.

"I'm not being mean," Sam continued. "I'm just telling the truth."

Dean couldn't believe his little brother was acting so rude. Especially since he was doing it in front of three pretty girls. "Shut up, _Samantha_," he finally said, making all three of the girls laugh. He immediately felt a little bad at the look on Sam's face, though. "Sammy, I'm sorry."

But Sam had already turned and was walking off the dock.

"Sam, wait!"

"I'm going back, Dean." Sam continued up the path and Dean was just about to follow, but one of the girls spoke.

"Dean? That's your name?"

Dean turned back around to the girls. "Yeah," he answered.

"And that's your little brother?" The girl named Tyler was asking.

"Yeah. Sorry. He can be a pain in the ass sometimes."

The girls snickered at that.

"I think he's adorable," Tyler said.

"You do? Even though he was making fun of your name?"

"I don't think he was making fun of my name, really. I think he was just saying what he thought. And it _is_ more of a boy's name, isn't it?"

"I think it's a cool name," Dean said. He could feel himself turning a little red, but he tried to play it cool. "It's different."

"Where are you guys from, Dean?" the girl named Nicole asked. "And how long will you be staying at the lake?"

Dean looked back down the trail, knowing that he needed to go after Sam. But he turned his attention back to the girls instead. "We're staying here until next week," he said. "And I'm not really _from _anywhere. We kinda just move around a lot."

"Really? That's so cool," Tyler said.

Before Dean could answer, he heard Sam yelling for him. And he could tell it was a 'Sam's scared' kind of yell.

"I gotta go," he said as he quickly turned to leave.

All three girls watched him run down the trail. One of them yelled that they would see him later, but he was too worried about his brother to reply.

Halfway down the trail, Dean found Sam frozen in place, staring at something in front of him. Dean came to an abrupt halt when he noticed how much Sam was shaking. "What is it?" he asked as he tried to look around his brother.

"A s-snake," Sam answered shakily.

"Don't move, Sammy," Dean instructed as he looked around to find something he could use against the snake if he had to. The snaked was coiled and poised to lunge at Sam at the first sign of movement. And Dean was afraid that his brother was going to panic and try to run off.

Eventually, Dean found a rather large branch from a tree that had a y shape at the end. He thought that maybe he could use the y part to trap the snake against the ground long enough for Sam to get away from it. Slowly coming up behind his brother, he hefted the branch is his hands. "Sam, don't move until I tell you to, okay? And when I do, I want you to go to the right. Over to that tree right there, okay? As fast as you can."

"Okay."

Dean stepped up to the right of his brother, keeping him slightly in front of him still. The angle he was at required him to hold the branch in his left hand and he was suddenly thankful for all the hours his dad had made him train using his left hand. Taking a deep breath, he lunged forward, yelling at Sam to move.

"Now, Sam!"

Sam quickly moved to the right and ran towards the tree Dean had indicated. Dean speared the branch down to the ground and was somehow lucky enough to capture the rattlesnake within the y. He wasn't sure how long he could hold the snake if it started to slither, so he quickly moved over to the right, scooped up the snake with the y part and flung it off into the woods. He wasn't sure how far he'd actually been able to fling it, but he didn't waste any time searching for it. Instead, he moved towards his brother and quickly pushed him up the trail towards the cabin.

Once they were back to the cabin, Dean ushered a still shaking Sam inside. He settled him down on the couch and grabbed a soda out of the small refrigerator. He remembered his dad telling him that sugar was a good thing to counteract some of the effects of shock, so he encouraged Sam to drink the soda.

Once it looked like some of the shaking had stopped, Dean stood back up. "Feeling better?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thanks, Dean."

Dean nodded at his little brother and then headed over to the kitchen table, grabbing one of his dad's guns. "I need to go back to the dock and warn Tyler, Holly, and Nicole," he said as he opened the door.

"Wait! You can't go back there, Dean."

"I'll be fine, Sam," Dean said, holding the gun up to show his brother.

"Dean, Dad'll kill you if you take that gun. And you can't go to the lake by yourself."

"Sam, I can't let them walk back without knowing to look out for that snake. What if one of them got bit?"

"You'll get in trouble," Sam tried again.

"No, I won't because Dad will never know. You're not going to tell him, right? And I know I won't tell him."

"He always finds out, Dean," Sam said knowingly. "You know he does."

"Sam, it's our job to fight monster's remember? It's what we do. I have to save them."

Sam knew that he was fighting a losing battle. He knew his brother wasn't going to back down. "Hurry, okay? And don't get bit by that snake."

"I won't." Dean smiled at his brother and then walked out the door, eager to do what he was supposed to do. _What he had been trained to do._

* * *

Dean carefully made his way back down to the lake, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of rattlesnakes. He could still feel his hands shaking a little, so he stuffed them in his pockets as he moved along. He arrived at the dock just as the girls were getting ready to jump into the lake. Just before he stepped out onto the dock, he put the gun down on the ground, next to a rock.

"Dean!" Tyler called out. "You're back! Are you ready to jump in? It's getting so hot, isn't it?"

Dean wanted nothing more than to jump into the lake and get to know Tyler a little more, but he knew he couldn't. He was already going to be in enough trouble for going down to the lake by himself, if his dad found out.

"I can't right now, but maybe later, okay? I have to get back up to our cabin before my dad gets back."

"Why did you come back then?" Holly asked him, looking at him suspiciously.

"Oh….um… I just wanted to warn you about the snakes."

All three of the girls screamed at the word, and if Dean wasn't still a little shaken up after his encounter with the rattlesnake, he probably would have rolled his eyes.

"Where did you see a snake?" Tyler asked as she ran over and grabbed Dean's arm. Dean didn't really mind that she had done that.

"On the trail. It was a big ol' rattler, too."

"Did you kill it?"

"No, but I flung it further into the trees," Dean said. "I just wanted you to know about it so you can be careful when you walk back."

"Oh, that's so sweet of you," Tyler crooned as she continued to hang on to him. "Isn't that sweet, Nicole?"

Dean looked over at Nicole, who didn't look impressed in the least. "It would have been sweeter if he would have killed the snake in the first place," she said.

"Nikki! Don't be rude." Tyler gave her friend an angry look before turning her attention back to Dean.

"Are you sure you can't stay for a while? Just a quick swim?"

Before Dean could answer, Tyler pulled him forward. He wasn't prepared for her to do that, so she easily pushed him off the dock and into the lake with a laugh.

Dean sputtered his way back over to the dock and pulled himself out, thankful that he didn't have the gun on him still. Tyler and Holly were laughing loudly at the look on his face. "See? The water feels good, doesn't it?" Tyler asked. "And now that you're all wet, you might as well stay for a while, Dean. Please?"

"I can't," Dean answered reluctantly, as he climbed out of the lake. "I have to get back."

"Will you come back later?" she asked hopefully.

"I'll try."

"Okay, well…. we'll be here this afternoon, too, so maybe we'll see you then."

"Yeah, maybe." Dean said goodbye and then headed back to the cabin, stopping to pick up the gun along the way. He could hear the girls giggling behind him and was glad they couldn't see the blush that had just spread across his face.

As he walked back to the cabin, his mind was distracted by the thought of spending an afternoon with Tyler and also with looking out for the snake. He was so distracted that he didn't see the large tree root that was sticking out of the ground on the edge of the trail and, of course, he tripped over it, sending himself flying sideways and into some undergrowth.

Pulling himself up, he looked down to find both of his knees skinned and bleeding. His right palm was bleeding some, too. Shaking his head at himself, he quickly made his way to the cabin. And, as his Winchester luck would have it, he turned the last bend in the trail and saw that his dad was back.

* * *

Dean walked through the door like a man walking to the gallows. He could hear his dad questioning Sam, who was obviously getting anxious. Neither one of them heard the door opening, so he was able to hide the gun and assess the situation before making his presence known. Not that it really mattered, because Dean knew from the minute he saw the Impala in front of the cabin that his dad was going to be pissed. And he knew that he most likely wouldn't even get a chance to explain himself before the hammer fell.

John Winchester wasn't known for taking the time to hear his sons out when they disobeyed. In his mind, disobedience was never excused. And the mere fact that Dean was standing there in his soaked clothes was going to be enough to send the man over the edge. Dean saw the exact moment that happened, too.

John turned away from Sam when he heard the squelching of Dean's wet tennis shoes on the floor. His eyes widened at the sight before him and Dean could literally see his face turning red.

"Did I not make myself clear on the rules before I left, Dean?" John asked in a steely voice.

"You did, sir," Dean answered without wasting any time.

"And yet here you are…. soaking wet, so you obviously went for a swim even though I told you that you couldn't. And not only that, but you obviously went off alone, which I also told you you couldn't do."

"I can explain, Dad," Dean tried.

"I'm sure you can, Dean, but I don't think I want to hear your explanation."

"That's not fair," Dean said sullenly.

"Oh, really? Because I don't think it's fair that you can't seem to follow the rules, son."

Dean didn't have an answer for that. He just continued to stare at the floor in front of him as he started to feel uncomfortable from the wet clothes, trying not to fidget and draw even more attention to himself.

John watched his son trying not to fidget and suddenly realized that he really didn't want to have to punish either of his boys. They were on a mini vacation and he really didn't want to spoil it for them. After thinking about it for a few long seconds, he finally decided to hear his son out.

"Dean, why don't you explain to me why you disobeyed me?" John finally said.

Dean looked up at his dad in complete surprise. He could tell that Sam was surprised, too, and he almost didn't know what to say. After a bit of prodding from the man, though, he opened up and explained all about the snake and how he'd gone back to the lake to warn Holly, Nicole, and Tyler. He then explained how Tyler had pushed him into the lake.

Sam was giggling at the story by then, knowing that Dean thought that Tyler was cute. He could tell by the way his brother's face was turning red, too. "I can't believe you let someone push you in, Dean," Sam laughed. "Especially someone like Tyler."

Dean glared at his little brother.

"Did you at least get some payback? Push Tyler into the lake?" Sam asked.

"Of course not. I just got out and told them that I had to come back before…." Dean stopped mid-sentence, hoping his dad hadn't heard what he was about to say.

"Before what?" John asked. "Before your old man came back and decided to tan your hide for disobeying?"

Dean looked up at his dad awkwardly. "Yes, sir."

Sam was still laughing at the look on Dean's face. "It's okay, Dad. Dean probably didn't mind getting pushed in. He likes Tyler."

Sam didn't realize the impact his words had on John, but he did notice how confused he looked, all of a sudden. Dean could tell that his dad was shocked by something, but he wasn't sure what it was, at first. It wasn't until John spoke that he was able to figure it out.

"Dean likes _Tyler_?" John asked in confusion.

Dean's face immediately turned beet red, knowing exactly what his father was thinking. He was pretty sure he had never been so embarrassed in his life. "Tyler's a girl, Dad," he finally spit out.

"Oh," John answered simply. "Oh… okay."

Sam had no idea what had just happened, but he was enjoying watching his brother squirm under their father's gaze. It didn't last too long, though, because John got back to the task of dealing with Dean's misbehavior.

"So, you were trying to help them. Is that it?"

"Yes, sir."

"And this girl, um…. Tyler…. Pushed you into the lake?"

"Yes, sir."

"You weren't planning on getting into the lake yourself?"

"No, I swear, Dad. I just went down there to warn them about the rattlesnake and I was going to come straight back. That's all."

John ran his hand over his face and through is hair as he looked at Dean. There was a part of him that thought that any disobedience deserved a swift correction, no matter the reason behind it. If they weren't on a "vacation," he would have probably lit a fire in Dean's backside the moment he walked through the door, but, he couldn't fault the boy for wanting to protect the girls at the lake. _And it really wasn't his fault that he got pushed into the lake, was it? Besides, saving people was what the boy was being trained to do._

"Okay, Dean. This is your one free pass, understand? If we have to have this conversation about following orders again, you'll not be getting a pass, no matter the reasoning. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, then…. Go change out of those wet clothes and let's grab some lunch. After lunch, we can go fishing. How does that sound?"

Both boys were excited and they eagerly helped their dad fix lunch. And both boys were still a little surprised that Dean had escaped without punishment.

* * *

After spending the afternoon and early evening down by the lake, all three of the Winchesters were tired. They had fished for several hours, catching enough fish for a good dinner. Then, they spent a few more hours swimming in the lake. Eventually, the three girls showed up and John couldn't help but smile at the way they fawned all over Dean. He could tell that Dean was enjoying every second of it.

Sam, on the other hand, wasn't happy with the way the afternoon was turning out. John could tell that the kid was jealous of the girls. He obviously wanted to play with his brother, but Dean only had eyes for Tyler at the moment. After making a general nuisance of himself in front of them all, Sam stomped over to where John was sitting and plopped down.

"Dean's stupid," he pouted. "And girls are stupid, too."

John laughed at the look on Sam's face. "I'm betting you'll feel differently in a few years, son."

"No, I won't. Not if it's gonna make me act like Dean's acting right now. I don't want to act stupid."

John laughed again and pulled his son into a one-armed hug. "What do you say you and I go catch a few more fish?"

Sam jumped up and immediately started gathering up the fishing gear. He didn't really like fishing, but he was desperate to get away from his stupid brother. He threw a few more glances over to his brother, but then turned to follow his dad down to the edge of the lake.

* * *

After finally having to pull Dean aside and threaten him with the threat of a few well-placed swats, John managed to get the boys back to the cabin. He noticed that Dean's shoulders, back, and face were a little sunburned, despite the sunscreen he'd slathered on multiple times throughout the day. He also noticed a strange rash trailing along Dean's stomach. Dean seemed to be constantly scratching his stomach, arms, and a few other private places.

Eventually, John couldn't take it anymore. "Why are you scratching yourself raw, Dean? Come here and let me look at that."

Dean stepped over to his dad, who immediately lifted up his shirt to check out his stomach.

"Whoa…. What the hell is that all about?"

Dean looked down at his stomach miserably. "I-I th-think it's poison oak," he finally answered.

John checked him out a little more. "So, I see it on your stomach and your chest and arms. Anywhere else?" He watched as Dean started to squirm a little more before pointing at his groin area. "There? Really?" John asked, sympathizing with Dean at the idea.

"Yeah," Dean answered miserably.

John tried to stifle his laugh, but it escaped anyway. Digging through the first aid kit, he found a tube of cream and handed it to Dean. "Maybe you should take a shower and then slather yourself up with this, kiddo."

Dean gratefully took the ointment and headed off to the bathroom. He didn't know it yet, but he was in for a long night.

* * *

The rest of the mini vacation wasn't too bad. Until the very last day.

Sam and Dean had gone down to the dock while they waited for John to make some phone calls. Dean was happy to find the girls at the dock, too, and he immediately went into what Sam liked to call his "Douche mode."

After spending almost two hours sitting on the dock and watching his brother flirt like an idiot, Sam was ready to go. So, he was more than happy when he heard John calling for them.

"Let's go, Dean. Dad's calling."

Dean completely ignored his little brother, not wanting to say goodbye to Tyler just yet. Over the last few days, Dean and Tyler had grown pretty fond of each other and Sam had even caught them kissing once or twice. Eventually, John's angry yells for them to return to the cabin, got Dean moving like he should have been doing in the first place. He said goodbye to Holly and Nicole, and then turned to Tyler, who was crying.

"Bye, Tyler," he said simply.

"Bye, Dean." Tyler stepped up and kissed Dean gently. "It's been a lot of fun getting to know you."

Dean brushed off a few tears from her face and then simply turned and walked away. He was trying to catch up with his brother, who was about twenty yards ahead of him by that time, and really wasn't paying attention to where he was going. And that's exactly how he got bit by a rattlesnake.

* * *

_Present Day_

Dean woke up the next morning to the sounds of his brother snoring and to the wonderful smell of bacon cooking downstairs. He stretched his body out on the too short bed frame and then rolled over.

"Rise and shine, Sammy," he said as he reached his leg across the small gap between their beds and nudged Sam's big foot with his own smaller one. When Sam didn't budge, Dean tried it again. "Come on, Sam. Don't you smell that delicious bacon?"

Sam rolled over with a loud groan. "Why do you always have to wake me up like that? Is there an unspoken rule that says we can't ever sleep in past eight?"

"Hey, it's almost twenty minutes after, dude. Time's a-wastin' and the food's getting cold."

Dean was halfway to the bathroom when he spotted something on the table by his bed. Stepping closer, he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw his amulet laying there. He picked it up and could immediately tell that it had been cleaned by whoever had taken it.

_But, who would do that?! Who would take something one day and return it in even better condition the next day? Does that even make sense?_

"Sam…. dude…. Look at this?" Dean held the amulet up for his brother to see.

Sam rolled over and tried to pry his eyes open. At the same time he was trying to sit up in the bed. "See? I told you, Dean. I told you that you probably just misplaced it."

"But, I didn't. It wasn't here when I went to sleep. So that means someone took it and brought it back." Dean walked over to the door and was surprised to see that it was still double-locked. "The door is locked, so no one broke in. How the hell did this thing just reappear?"

Sam pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the bed and was now staring at the amulet. "I have no idea, but at least it's back."

"Yeah."

"That is weird, though."

"You think?" Dean asked sarcastically. He was beginning to get the feeling that this little "vacation" was going to turn out just like all the other ones they'd had. Which didn't bode well for him, at all.

"What?" Sam asked when he saw the sudden change in Dean's demeanor.

"What?" Dean echoed.

"What's wrong with you? All of a sudden, there's a dark cloud hanging over your head. You're like Eeyore, or something."

"Like who?"

"Eeyore. You know, the gloomy donkey from Winnie the Pooh?"

"I don't watch Winnie the Pooh, Sam."

"I know you don't now, but when we were kids."

"I didn't watch it then, either," Dean answered.

"Anyway, what are you thinking about?"

Dean stepped over to his bag and started pulling out clothes. His stomach growled loudly and he really wanted to hurry up before all the bacon was gone. "Come on, Sammy. We need to get downstairs before all the good food is gone."

"You mean before all the bacon is gone," Sam laughed.

"Damn right, that's what I mean. I need bacon, Sam."

Sam got up and started grabbing his own clothes. "Okay, but you're still gonna tell me what's got your panties in a twist."

Dean took a quick shower and brushed his teeth. He was trying to decide if he wanted to shave when Sam came out of the shower. After deciding against shaving, he sat down on the bed to put his boots on. Sam sat down on his own bed and looked over at his brother.

"Ready to talk yet?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Something's bugging you. I can tell."

Dean was suddenly too tired to avoid Sam's questions anymore, so he decided to just answer him. "I just have a feeling that this little vacation isn't going to turn out good."

"Why do you think that?" Sam asked, genuinely curious.

"Because, Sam…. When do our vacations ever turn out good? For me, especially."

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon, Sam. Think about all of our vacations in the past. I almost died on a kiddie ride at a carnival. I got stung by a jellyfish and we got stuck in a tornado. I got bit by a rattlesnake and had poison oak in places you wouldn't believe, remember? My appendix ruptured that summer we went to Maine. And you almost drowned on one of our "family vacations." Remember? Our track record isn't the greatest, so what makes you think this one is going to be any different?"

* * *

Author's note: Whew! This chapter got away from me a little bit, lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and the torture I love putting Dean through. Poor guy!

Thanks so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter/story.


	5. Chapter 5

Winchester Family Vacations

Chapter 5

* * *

Dean was right, of course. Their family vacations usually didn't end well, but Sam was pretty sure that people everywhere had stressful, disastrous vacations. _Why would the Winchester family be any different, right?_

"Come on, Dean. We're not the only family that had bad vacations. I mean, they make movies about that kind of stuff, so it must be real."

Dean grumbled something as he threw his sleep clothes onto the pile of his clothes that was already on the bed. He then threw his wet towel on the floor.

"Are you going to just leave that there?" Sam was obviously annoyed, but not terribly surprised, with his brother's tendency to be a slob sometimes.

Dean ignored him and headed for the door. "Let's go. I need food."

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother, but then finished folding up his own clothes. After hanging his towel up on the towel rack in the bathroom, he turned and followed Dean out of the room. They quickly made their way downstairs- Dean obviously following the delicious smell of breakfast- and made their way into the dining room. They were surprised to see several other people already sitting at the long table in the center of the room.

A young woman turned to greet them as they made their way over to the table. "Good morning! You two look like you're hungry." She smiled at the eager look on Dean's face.

"Starving," he answered, giving her his most charming smile. Sam rolled his eyes at the way she seemed to melt under his brother's gaze.

"Have a seat. You're just in time for the next course."

Dean sat down in the nearest seat and Sam took the seat directly across from him. There was a young couple to the right of where Dean was sitting and two middle aged women to his left. Sam was surrounded by two elderly couples and one of the older ladies kept patting his arm and telling him how much he reminded her of her grandson. Looking over at his brother, he was immediately annoyed with the way Dean was flirting with the ladies sitting next to him. And the way they were flirting right back.

Of course, the flirting stopped the second they placed the next course of food on the table. Sam nearly laughed at the way Dean's eyes widened at the food that was placed on the table. They had already missed the first three courses- porridge beignet with rhubarb and whiskey compote, fresh fruit and a variety of local cheeses, and pancakes with maple syrup and caramelized pineapples. The dishes that were placed in front of them now were filled with an elegant-looking food that Sam was sure Dean would hate.

Imagine his surprise when Dean dug into it with gusto.

"What is this?" Dean looked over at the young lady that was hosting the breakfast. "Sam, did you try this yet? It's delicious."

"That's a special creation of our resident chef's," she explained. "It's an arugula and pistachio pesto quiche with a side of caramelized brown sugar bacon."

"Well, it's a little slice of heaven, if you ask me," Dean answered with a toothy grin and a mouth full of bacon. "Sam, you need to get the recipe for this."

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's uncouthness. _He'd been doing a lot of eye-rolling already and it wasn't even nine o'clock in the morning._

Digging into his own plate of food, Sam had to agree with his brother. The food _was_ absolutely delicious and he decided to just be happy with the fact that Dean was eating something other than his usual breakfast taco or omelet.

By the time they were through with the other three courses, Dean was ready to go back to bed. He had, of course, eaten almost twice as much as everyone else at the table and was very nearly in a food coma. As he pushed himself away from the table, he looked over to see Sam being hugged by a woman that was nearly two feet shorter than him. When he saw her start to pinch his brother's cheeks, Dean thought it was probably time to step in.

"Hey, Sammy…. Let's go. We've got things to do, remember?"

Sam looked over at his brother thankfully, and quickly moved away from his admirers. Once he was on the other side of the table, he had to stand awkwardly aside while Dean said goodbye to his own admirers. Dean's goodbyes were a lot more uncomfortable for a brother to watch.

They really didn't have plans for the day, but Sam said something about going to a place called Sea Lion Caves. Neither one of them really had any true desire to see a bunch of sea lions, but they both liked the idea of doing something so mundane and normal.

"Hey, I left the car keys in the room," Dean said as he walked back towards the stairs. Sam followed after him, not trusting him to not climb into bed and fall asleep. They entered the room and Dean quickly started looking for his keys. "They're here somewhere," he said as he looked around the room.

They both seemed to notice at the same exact time that the pile of clothes on the bed and the towel on the floor were no longer there.

"What the hell?!" Dean asked as he looked around the room. "Sam, where's my stuff?"

Sam looked around the room, his eyes finally landing on the towel that was now hanging next to his own. He also noticed the neatly folded pile of Dean's clothes that were now sitting on the closet shelf.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dean stepped over to the pile of clothes and grabbed his coat from the pile. "Since when does Housekeeping fold clothes for you?"

"This wasn't Housekeeping, Dean. The beds are still unmade. And I put the Do Not Disturb card on the door handle, like usual."

"Then who folded my clothes? And how did they get in here?"

"I have no idea. It doesn't look like anything is missing, does it? Everything's here?"

"Yeah. Nothing seems to be missing. But, dude…. This is getting really weird."

"I don't know what to tell you, Dean. It's weird, but it's harmless, right?"

"I don't like it."

"I don't like it, either, but I don't know what to do about it. We can spend our time lurking around the place, looking for clues, if you want. Or we can go do something fun and normal. Whatever is going on here isn't a big deal."

Dean looked like he wanted to argue, but chose not to. "Did you say something about seafood earlier? I could go for some shrimp tacos."

"You can't possibly be hungry already! We just ate a huge breakfast, Dean."

"Hey, don't judge me. We're on vacation."

"That doesn't mean you have to eat like a pig. Remember what happened that time in Maine?"

Dean remembered, of course. _How could he forget something like that?!_

* * *

_July 1996_

They had been in Maine for almost a week already, and while it wasn't an official vacation since John was off on a hunt, he had excused the boys from training during the week he was gone. He had also left them with a little bit of extra money, so they could go to the annual summer festival the little town was holding the week of the Fourth of July.

Dean, who was seventeen that summer, tried to hide his excitement from his brother, not wanting to seem uncool in front of him. But, truth be told, he was excited to take the week off. He had seen a flyer at the diner they ate at the first night they were in town- detailing all of the events planned for the week- and he really wanted to take part in a few of them. _A mud volley ball tournament with girls in bikinis? A classic car show? A chili cook-off? A pie-eating contest? Who wouldn't want to take part in that?!_

John gave them strict instructions on what they could and couldn't do during the week and Dean's intent was to follow those instructions like a good little soldier. But, Sam knew that the road to hell was paved with good intentions. _Or something like that._

Several days of the summer festival had already passed, but they were there for the best parts. On Tuesday, they started with the classic car show. Sam was completely bored, but Dean was having a great time looking at all of the cars. He especially loved it when he got to the muscle cars and Sam stood back and watched as Dean talked with each of the car owners. He laughed whenever he heard his brother talking someone's ear off about the Impala, which happened quite often.

After the car show, they moved on to the chili cook-off. Dean thought himself a connoisseur of chili, having spent several weeks learning how to make it the last time they'd stayed with Bobby. They walked from table to table, taking samples and savoring each bite. Dean talked about things like chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, chili peppers, and every other pepper he could think of. Sam thought that the chili all tasted pretty much the same, but he didn't tell his brother that.

After sampling twenty-three different pots of chili, they both were feeling a little nauseated. Sam wanted to go back to the motel they were staying in, but Dean wanted to head over to the stage area where a magic show was about to begin. Dean won out, of course, and minutes later they were seated in the front row. Sam laughed at the silly look on Dean's face when he saw the magician's assistant walk out onto the stage. He rolled his eyes a few minutes later when the two of them started flirting with each other. _The assistant had to be at least twenty-five!_

When the show was over, Sam suddenly found himself alone back at the motel while Dean hung out with the magician's assistant. He knew that their dad wouldn't be happy if he found out that Dean had left him alone, even though Sam was thirteen years old.

* * *

It was almost two in the morning when Dean finally came back. Sam could tell he was drunk by the way he was stumbling around the small room, trying to take his pants off without falling over. He knew Dean would have one hell of a hangover when he woke up and Sam wouldn't feel sorry for him at all. While Dean had been out having fun with a beautiful young woman, Sam had been stuck inside the motel room with a crappy television and a bag of stale chips.

Dean was hurting when he woke up at noon and Sam _did_ feel a little sorry for him. Especially when he spent the better part of an hour throwing up in the dirty bathroom. When he finally came out of the bathroom, Sam was surprised to see how pale he still was.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm good," Dean mumbled. "I guess I had a little too much fun last night."

"I'm glad someone did," Sam muttered under his breath.

"What was that, Sammy? Did you say something?"

"Never mind, Dean. Are you hungry? I think there's a vending machine around the corner."

"I just puked my guts out, Sammy. I don't think I'll ever eat again."

"Well, that's too bad, because today is the pie-eating contest. I thought for sure you'd win that, Dean."

Dean groaned and fell back onto the bed. "That's today? I thought it was tomorrow."

"Nope, it's today. In just a few hours, actually."

"Get me some water, Sammy. I need to hydrate."

Sam grabbed some change off of the table and stepped outside. He realized that the door hadn't been locked when he opened it and was glad that their dad hadn't come home to find it unlocked. _That would be an awful way to end what was turning out to be a decent week._

Returning to the room with his arms full of water and a few snacks, Sam quickly locked the door and salted it. Just in case. Dean was still laying on the bed, but he sat up when Sam threw a bottle of water at him.

"Thanks, Sammy," he said hoarsely. Sam watched as he gulped down half a bottle of water in just a few swallows. Dean's face paled, but a few seconds later the color returned. After taking a few deep breaths, he downed the rest of the bottle and grabbed another one.

Sam dug around in the first aid kit until he found the last packet of Tylenol and handed it to his brother. Dean took it without a word and quickly swallowed them. He was already feeling better, except for the fact that he still felt a little nauseous. After finishing the second bottle of water, he stood up and grabbed some clean clothes.

'I'm gonna go take a shower and then I'm gonna go eat some pie," he said as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Sam wasn't surprised, at all. He'd never known his brother to turn down free pie.

* * *

Despite the fact that Dean still felt sick to his stomach and despite the fact that his stomach really started hurting a quarter of the way through the first pie, he ended up winning the contest. By the time the clock ran out, he had eaten his way through one blueberry pie, one banana cream pie, and one pumpkin pie.

Sam laughed as his brother stood up on the stage to claim his prize. He looked a little green around the mouth, but his face lit up with a smile as they handed him a small trophy and an envelope. They were both surprised to find a fifty dollar bill in the envelope.

After the little awards ceremony was over with, Dean insisted that they go sit underneath a big shade tree. Sam knew he was feeling pretty sick, but he also knew his brother wasn't going to let that get in the way of them having fun. So much of their lives was spent training, researching, and generally preparing for a hunt that chances of sitting underneath a shade tree with nothing to do were actually very rare.

After sitting there for a while, Sam looked over at Dean, only to find him fast asleep. Sam wished that he had brought a book to read, but instead he just watched the people around him. He watched as people greeted each other with hugs and hearty hellos and he wondered what it would be like to live in such a place.

As Dean slept, Sam day-dreamed about what their lives could have been like. They would probably live in a small house on the outskirts of town. He and Dean would argue about whose turn it was to mow the grass or take out the garbage. Dean would probably get a job at the local garage, working on some of those classic cars they'd seen at the car show. Dad would probably work there, too. Sam would try out for the soccer team and maybe even the basketball team once he grew a little taller. They'd have their neighbors over for BBQs in the summer and they'd go out and cut down their own Christmas tree a few weeks before Christmas.

He could imagine Dean with a steady girlfriend and he could imagine his dad going to Parent/Teacher conferences at school. They'd have dinner together every night and they'd go fishing on the weekends. Life could be simple for them, at least in his imagination. He was just starting to wonder what it would be like to apply for colleges and prepare for the SATs when he heard a rather loud groan from his brother.

"You okay?" he asked as Dean pulled himself up against the tree.

"Ugh….." Dean couldn't get anything else out before he was up and running to the bathroom. Sam jumped up and followed him, wanting to make sure he was okay. By the time he made it into the bathroom, Dean was already in a stall, throwing up every single last bite of pie he'd eaten.

"Dean?"

"I'm okay, Sammy. Just ate too much, too fast, I think."

"Yeah, plus you're hungover, too, remember?"

Dean didn't even bother to reply to his brother. Instead, he kept himself hunched over the toilet, just in case. Sam could see the slow rise and fall of his brother's chest and he knew he was trying to calm himself down. Eventually, Dean stood up on shaky legs and made his way over to the sink.

"I think maybe we need to go back to the motel," Sam said as he watched Dean splash cold water on his face.

Dean didn't argue.

* * *

By the next morning, Dean was feeling a little better. He wasn't about to let Sam know that he was still feeling nauseous and that the lower part of his abdomen was really hurting. He also thought that maybe he was running a fever.

Sam noticed that Dean looked a little flushed, but thought that maybe he'd just gotten a little too much sun the day before. He didn't seem to notice the underlying paleness of Dean's face.

After convincing Sam that he was indeed feeling better, Dean started making plans for the day. "What time is the mud volleyball tournament, Sam?"

Sam checked the schedule and then told Dean the sequence of events for the day. Dean's eyes lit up for a single second when he heard that there was a hot dog eating contest at lunchtime. Sam hoped that he really wasn't planning on taking part in that.

He was, however, planning on taking part in the mud volleyball games, despite the fact that he really wasn't feeling good. Once they got to the part of the park where the games were going on, Dean quickly looked around, trying to find a team he could join. Sam watched as he ignored the teams that were all male and set his focus on the female teams. Within ten minutes, he had joined a team of five girls- in bikinis, of course- that were looking for a sixth player.

Sam sat on the sidelines as he watched his brother play. Dean really hadn't ever played volleyball before, but he was naturally athletic. Their team didn't win very many games, but Sam could tell that Dean was having fun. All five of the girls were vying for his attention and he was lapping it up.

Sam did notice, though, that every so often, Dean would stop what he was doing and bend over, taking deep breaths and clutching his abdomen. Sam noticed this happening more and more often as the afternoon went on and by the time they were done, Dean could barely stand up straight.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

"I think I pulled a muscle or something." Dean leaned up against a tree, wiping his face off a little on his already mud-stained shirt. The girls from his team were all scattered around him, oohing over him and his apparent distress.

Sam knew that once again Dean was feeling pretty bad when he didn't argue about going back to the motel room. After saying good-bye to his teammates, Dean turned and followed Sam back to their room, still stooped over, even as he walked.

Once they were back in the motel room, Sam gathered up some clean clothes for his brother, while Dean jumped in the shower. He was starting to get a little worried about Dean and for the first time in a long time, wished that his dad would come home early from the hunt.

Once Dean had removed as much of the mud as he could, he came out of the bathroom in a billow of steam. Sam watched as he moved gingerly over to the bed and laid down, immediately curling up on his side.

"Do you need anything, Dean?" Sam asked.

"I just wanna sleep, Sam. Okay? Maybe when I wake up, we can go back and watch the fireworks. I think they start at 9."

"Sounds good, Dean." Sam turned and sat down on the other bed. He turned the tv on and found something on the nature channel that looked interesting. Turning the volume way down so it wouldn't disturb Dean, Sam settled himself against the headboard. He was looking forward to the fireworks show, so he really hoped that Dean felt better when he woke up.

* * *

Dean woke up almost four hours later, saying that he felt better, but Sam wasn't convinced that he was telling the truth. He still seemed to be hunching over a little and he continuously had a scrunched up look on his face.

"Are you sure you feel like going? We don't have to go." Sam asked.

"Of course, we do. It's fireworks, Sam!"

Sam didn't argue with his brother, knowing that it wouldn't do any good. Dean grabbed the blanket off of one of the beds and grabbed both of their sweatshirts. He was determined to get there early enough to get good seats for the show.

Twenty minutes later, they were settled on the blanket on a small slope of a hill. Other people were starting to stake their claims on the good spots, too, and both Sam and Dean watched as the park slowly filled up. At one point, Sam left with a handful of dollar bills and returned with several bottles of water and soda and a giant basket full of curly-fries. He was surprised when Dean only ate a few of the fries.

As they waited for the show to start, Sam studied his brother closely. He could tell that Dean was feeling pretty awful, but he didn't want to draw attention to the fact that he knew, knowing that Dean would be mad. Instead, he tried to take his brother's mind off of whatever was going on with him.

"Hey, Dean… remember that time you got all those fireworks and we set them off in that field?"

"Of course, I remember. That was totally epic!" Dean laughed. "Remember how fast that field burned?"

Sam and Dean both really felt guilty about what had happened, actually. They didn't intend to start a fire, but when one of the fireworks flew up into the air and then came directly back down into the box of remaining fireworks, it happened before they could stop it. Dean remembered trying to put out the flames, but they were spreading much too quickly. After trying and failing, he pulled Sam towards the car and they sped away as fast as they could. They stopped at the nearest payphone and Dean called 911, telling them that old Mr. Nichol's field was on fire. He hung up before they could ask any questions and then drove Sam back to the motel as fast as he could.

They were relieved to find out the next day that the fire had been contained to only one field and that nothing else had burned down. Dean was thankful that John was off on a hunt with Caleb when that happened and really thought that they were in the clear. Unfortunately, John Winchester always had a way of finding things out and he wasn't home for more than a day before he realized that his boys were responsible for the rather large patch of burnt grass on the outskirts of town.

Dean remembered that he and Sam had walked down to a local swimming hole that day, eager to get some relief from the sweltering heat for a few hours. John stayed behind, since he needed to shore up some of their supplies. He drove past the scorched field on his way to the store and heard all about how the field went up in flames two days before. The clerk at the store said that they had no idea who started the fire, only that it was someone letting off fireworks in the field.

He really didn't think anything of it until he opened up the trunk of the Impala to put the groceries in and saw several unused fireworks wedged into the side. Suddenly, he knew that it was his boys that were responsible for nearly burning the town down and suddenly he had a strong desire to light a fire in their backsides.

Dean and Sam weren't prepared to face the wrath of a pissed off John Winchester, but that's exactly what they did that night. Of course, Dean took most of the blame on himself, but both boys went to sleep on their stomachs that night.

"That really was epic, wasn't it?" Sam said with a grin, obviously ignoring the memory of the aftermath of that night.

Dean grinned back at him, but Sam didn't miss how that grin quickly turned into a grimace. Before he could say anything, the first firework went off and he turned his attention up to the sky.

* * *

Sam woke up sometime during the night to the sound of Dean throwing up. He scrambled out of bed and turned on the light, surprised to find Dean leaning over the side of the bed, throwing up in a trash can.

"Dean? Are you okay?" He was surprised by his brother's answer.

"No. Something's wrong, Sammy." Dean was hunched over, clutching his abdomen with one hand as he held the trash can in the other one.

"What do I do?" Sam asked, panic overtaking him at the sight before him. Before Dean could answer, he ran over to the phone and dialed a number he had memorized years before. When he heard the gruff hello at the other end, he didn't waste any time in explaining what was happening.

"Uncle Bobby? There's something wrong with Dean?"

"Sam? What do you mean? What's going on?"

"He's really sick, Uncle Bobby. He's throwing up and his stomach is really hurting."

"Where's your dad?" Bobby asked.

"He's on a hunt."

"Where are you boys? Still in Montana?"

"No, sir. We're in Maine now."

"Okay, let me talk to Dean, Sam."

"He can't, Uncle Bobby. He won't stop throwing up."

"How long has he been sick?"

"I don't know. Off and on for a few day, I guess."

After answering a few more questions about how Dean was feeling, Bobby told Sam to call for an ambulance. By that time, the panic was almost overwhelming, but Bobby was able to calm Sam down enough to get the job done. The ten minutes it took for the ambulance to get there seemed like a lifetime to Sam, so as soon as he heard the siren, he ran to the door and threw it open. Minutes later, two medics were in the room, assessing the situation. Sam listened as they said something about Dean's blood pressure being low and his heart rate being high. They also said that he had a temperature of almost a hundred and one.

After asking Sam questions about where their parents were, they loaded Dean into the ambulance. Sam crawled in next to the stretcher and held onto Dean's hand as they started to the hospital. Once they got to the hospital, they wheeled Dean through a set of double doors and it was almost five hours later before he saw his brother again.

Sam sat in the waiting room all by himself that whole time. Not for the first time, he cursed the fact that their dad was always gone. He didn't want to have to be the one to deal with everything that had just happened. He didn't want to be in a hospital waiting room all by himself, anxiously hoping that someone would come out and tell him what was going on. He didn't want to be the only one worrying that Dean might die and leave him all alone.

Eventually, someone came out and explained that Dean's appendix had ruptured and that he had been taken in for emergency surgery to remove it. He was relieved to learn that the surgery had gone good and despite the fact that Dean would need some pretty potent antibiotics, he was doing okay. He was relieved to hear all of that, but true relief didn't happen until he was finally allowed to see his brother. Once he laid his eyes on Dean's overly pale face, he finally let out the breath he felt like he'd been holding forever.

Dean was in the hospital for almost two days when John finally showed up.

* * *

_Present Day_

"Of course, I remember what happened that summer in Maine, Sam. But that didn't have anything to do with the fact that I pigged out. My appendix ruptured, dude."

"Well, I'm sure eating three whole pies in the span of four minutes didn't help the matter."

"My appendix would have ruptured either way, Sam."

"It shouldn't have ruptured at all, Dean. If you weren't so stubborn and if you hadn't ignored what your body was trying to tell you for so long, it wouldn't have."

"We were on vacation, Sammy. I was trying to make the most of it and I didn't want to let a little stomach ache ruin it for us."

"I think it was much more than just a little stomach ache." Sam looked annoyed at Dean's continual ability to downplay something so serious. "You could have died."

"Sam, we almost die in almost every job we take. I'm not about to let something like a bad appendix take me out. Dean Winchester is not going to die in such a weak way. Nope… Dean Winchester is going out guns blazing, mark my word."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Consider it marked. Now, can we please go? I really want to go check out those sea lions. The brochure said the best time of day to see them was before lunch."

"Okay, Sammy. Let's go see the sea lions, you big nerd."

"You want to see them as much as I do, jerk."

"Not even a little bit, bitch," Dean laughed.

* * *

Author's note: It's been a busy two weeks, so I'm a little late with updates on my stories. My son wrecked his car, so I've been dealing with all of that for the last two weeks. Then, the same son had to have an emergency appendectomy. I thought it was pretty funny that I was already planning on writing about Dean's ruptured appendix and then this happened. I'm hoping life doesn't continue to imitate art, lol.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I really hope you enjoy this chapter and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Take care.


	6. Chapter 6

Winchester Family Vacations

Chapter 6

* * *

Dean would never admit it, but Sam knew that he actually liked visiting the Sea Lions Cave. His brother's laughter echoed loudly in the cave, causing everyone to stare at them. Dean didn't mind, though. He rarely cared what other people thought of him on most things.

By the time they were done, Dean had bought himself a t-shirt that had a sea lion on the front and said _**Save the Chubby Mermaids**_. He also bought them each a shot glass that said _Sea Lion Caves, Oregon Coast _on it. Sam wasn't used to having a brother who was interested in buying souvenirs, especially when that souvenir was a t-shirt with an obese mammal on the front of it.

Once they were done at the caves, they made their way to a popular seafood restaurant that overlooked the ocean. Dean ate more than his share of crab, oysters, and clams, while Sam ate a salad with fresh shrimp on it. Once Dean was finally full, Sam suggested that they visit a glass-blowing shop. He realized much too late what a mistake that would turn out to be.

Dean acted like he wasn't interested in the glass-blowing process, but deep down, he was like a little kid in a toy shop. He watched the man blowing glass for what seemed like hours and they were just about to leave when another customer told them that there was a shop just down the street that offered lessons on glass-blowing. Before Sam even knew what was happening, Dean was leading them down the street in search of the shop.

Once they were there, Dean started asking the man questions on the process and how much it cost. Sam thought it sounded a little too expensive, but when he saw the excitement in Dean's eyes, he figured no cost was too much. It wasn't often that his brother got excited over something that didn't involve hunting, guns, girls, or the Impala.

Of course, he really didn't know why he expected things to go any different than they actually did. While Dean was a patient and scrupulous hunter most of the time, his patience ran dry with other endeavors. Especially if someone was bossing him around and telling him what to do.

Dean was usually pretty good with his hands, but it seemed glassblowing was a little too delicate for him. It required a little too much constraint, too, and Sam wanted to laugh at Dean's utter inability to control himself.

He wanted to laugh right up until the moment Dean's arm moved up against a still-hot torch, leaving him with a burned swatch of skin. The owner of the shop felt awful for what happened, but ultimately it was Dean's own fault because he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing despite the frequent reminders of knowing where the torch was at all times.

Sam spent several minutes reassuring the owner of the shop that they weren't going to sue him while the burn on Dean's arm was being attended to by the owner's elderly wife. Dean was soaking up the attention, for sure, and didn't argue when she sent them on their way with a plate of cookies and a whole cherry pie.

When Sam was finally able to get a good look at the wound, he decided that it would probably be a good idea to get it checked out at a hospital. The last thing they needed was for an infection to set in and ruin the rest of their vacation. Of course, convincing Dean of the need to go to the hospital was a chore in itself, but eventually, he had his brother loaded in the car and they were on their way.

* * *

Sitting in the emergency room of the local hospital, Sam watched as Dean paced the floor, holding his arm to his chest and grimacing from the obvious pain he was feeling.

"How are you doing, Dean?" Sam expected his brother to either ignore his question or bite his head off for asking it, so he wasn't surprised at Dean's angry answer.

"How do you _think_ I'm doing, Samuel? I feel like my arm is on fire."

"The guy tried to tell you to be careful, Dean. So did I. You should have listened to us."

"I'm not in the mood for your "I told you so's," Sam. My freakin' arm hurts! And I didn't even get to finish my glass."

Sam clamped his mouth shut, wisely choosing not to continue with what he was going to say. It didn't take too long for him to get curious again, though. "How bad does it hurt? As bad as when you got sunburned in Florida? Or as bad as that day at Bobby's?"

Dean rolled his eyes and groaned loudly. "I told you never to talk about that day again, Sam. Worst day of my life."

"Seriously? After all we've been through, _that's _the worst day of your life?"

"You were there, Sam. You witnessed everything, remember? Don't you think it would definitely top the list of worst things to have happen to you?"

Sam laughed, but then a shudder ran through him as he replayed the memory in his head. He suddenly wasn't so sure that it didn't deserve the top spot on that list, after all.

* * *

June 1994

When Dean was fifteen and Sam was eleven, they spent almost a month in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Once again, Bobby talked John into giving the boys a break from hunting and surprisingly, John agreed. Dean figured he only agreed because he was tired of hearing Sam whining about having to leave school two weeks early, but he was happy he'd agreed, nonetheless.

The first week they were there was a good week. John left every so often to do some research, but for the most part he would only be gone for a few hours at a time. When he was home, though, he spent some time with his boys, playing poker and fishing and working on the Impala with Dean. He even took them to a NASCAR race one day, much to Dean's delight.

Neither one of the boys was surprised when it didn't last, though. At the start of the second week, Dean noticed that his dad was getting restless. He spent more time on his phone or holed up inside Bobby's library with his nose buried in a book, obviously researching for a hunt. He paced the small front yard anxiously, his eyes darting from the house to the Impala to the phone in his hand. He and Sam were at each other's throats again over every little thing. Dean figured that the man would be leaving sometime soon and it made him angry, wondering why the man couldn't just settle in for a change.

There was a part of Dean that really wanted to hunt with his dad, too, but every time he brought up the idea of him joining John when he left, the idea was quickly shot down. Dean realized, too, just how happy Sam was to be spending the summer acting like normal kids and he didn't want to ruin that for his little brother. It didn't stop him from thinking that despite appearances, they were anything but normal, though. _Like they could ever be normal, right?_

By the end of the second week, John had left to join Caleb on a hunt somewhere in Arkansas. Dean spent the next two days sulking around the house, getting on both his brother's and Bobby's last nerve. Finally, Bobby sent him into town to blow off some steam while he helped Sam work on the end-of-year science project he never had the chance to finish.

"You do know you don't have to finish that, don't you?" Dean asked as he was about to climb into the beat-up Chevy pickup Bobby was letting him take into town. "Forget about that and come with me, Sammy. We'll find something fun to do."

"I want to finish this, Dean. I worked really hard on it and I don't want to just leave it unfinished."

"Why not? No one's gonna care if you throw it in the trash, Sammy. No one's gonna even know if you finish it or not."

"I'll know."

"You're such a nerd." Dean climbed into the Chevy and slammed the door behind him. After spending a few seconds trying to get the truck to start, the engine finally roared to life and he leaned his head out the window. "Have it your way, I guess. But you're gonna miss out on some awesome fun."

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother, but felt a slight pang of regret as he watched him drive away. He probably would have more fun with his brother, but he'd also probably get into trouble if he was with him, too. Before turning back to the house, Sam watched as Dean drove out of the salvage yard, music blasting from the radio. He couldn't help but wonder just what his brother was going to be doing in town.

* * *

Dean drove the Chevy as carefully as he could without driving like an old woman. He was only fifteen, so he didn't have his license yet. Of course, Uncle Bobby had given him a fake one, just in case, but he'd warned Dean that he'd be in a mess of trouble if he got pulled over for anything.

Sioux Falls was a fairly large city and Dean had been warned to stay only on the outskirts of it. Bobby wasn't convinced that the kid was ready to drive in an overly populated part of the city, so Dean wasn't allowed to drive into the heart of the city.

Dean wasn't really sure what it was he was actually supposed to do, so he stopped at little drive-in restaurant that looked to be pretty popular. Luckily, he found a parking spot a little off to the side, so he could sit and watch some of the activity before deciding if he wanted to actually get out. One of the first things he noticed was a group of teenagers that were sitting at a picnic table nearby. And they seemed to have noticed him, too. Especially the girls.

Dean gave them a cheeky grin, causing the girls to immediately start giggling and the boys to glare at him. He was surprised when one of the girls stood up and started walking over to him. And he was surprised to see that she was the prettiest one of the group and definitely his type.

"Hey, you're not from around here, are you?" The girl walked directly up to his window and leaned her arm on it, never taking her eyes off of him. Her blonde hair was blowing in the breeze and he felt a sudden desire to reach out and tuck it behind her ears.

"I'm just here visiting my uncle," he finally answered as he looked her over some more.

"That's nice. How long are you visiting?"

"Don't really know, yet. At least a few more weeks, I guess."

Dean was nearly blinded by the smile she gave him and he had a fleeting thought that he might be in over his head with her. He, of course, wasn't a complete novice around girls, but most of the girls he'd dated weren't quite as….. _audacious?_ _Was that the word Sam had used just last night when they were playing Scrabble? _Dean had no idea what the word even meant until Sam explained it to him. Then he spent another twenty minutes trying to figure out how an eleven-year-old kid knew a word like that. Sam and Bobby then spent twenty minutes laughing at _him_ when he tried to make the word bodacious by adding the letter 'B' to Sam's audacious on the board. _They could laugh all they wanted, because he might not have known how to spell bodacious, but he definitely knew what it meant._

"What's your name?" the girl finally asked as she flicked her hair over her shoulders. Dean tried to keep his eyes on her face, but the angle he was sitting at, combined with the low-cut shirt she was wearing, made it difficult.

"Why don't you guess?" he teased.

The girl studied him for a few minutes and he was eager to find out what she came up with. "Hmmmm…. Well, you're putting off a pretty cool, tough-guy vibe, so I doubt your name is something preppy. That rules out names like Spencer or Bradford or Carter. And you definitely don't look like a George or an Edward. So…. I'm thinking something like Jake or Zack or Biff."

"Biff?" Dean couldn't help but laugh at her choices. "It's definitely not Biff. Why don't you tell me your name and I'll tell you mine."

"I want you to try to guess mine," she answered coyly. "What do I look like to you?"

Dean pretended to study her for several long seconds before he answered. "Well, you're putting off a pretty cool, confident vibe, so I doubt your name is something too girly. That rules out names like Clementine or Arabella or Sophia. And you definitely don't look like an Esther or a Bernice or a Prudence. So….. I'm thinking your name is something like Athena or Kendra or….. Wait! I know…. It's Bree, isn't it?"

He nearly laughed at the look of complete surprise on her face.

"How….how did you know that?" The girl looked around, obviously confused as to how a boy she'd never met before knew her name.

"I guess I'm just really smart," Dean answered as seriously as he could. "Or maybe I'm psychic."

"Seriously. How do you know my name? Did Jeremy put you up to this?"

"Sorry, I don't know a Jeremy." Dean got a little bit of a kick at the completely confused look on her face, but he decided to give her a break. He reached his hand out of the truck window and played with the stack of bracelets she was wearing on her left wrist. "So, I'm guessing you forgot that one of your bracelets has your name on it?"

Bree looked down at her wrist and laughed. "How did you know that wasn't my best friend's name or something? How did you know it was mine?"

Dean shrugged his shoulder and gave her another cocky grin. "I didn't really. I just took a chance. But I'm right, right?"

"Yeah, you're right. So, now you know my name, but I still don't know yours."

He thought about keeping her guessing for a little longer, but he was too hungry to continue. "It's Dean," he finally said.

"Dean, huh? It suits you. Do you want to join me and my friends over there, Dean? We were just getting ready to order some food."

Dean looked over at the group and decided that he did want to join them. It seemed like that's what teenagers did in this town and he was definitely a red-blooded American teenaged boy, after all.

Joining the group of kids at the picnic table ended up being both a blessing and a curse for Dean. The blessing part came when Bree asked him to join her later on at a party one of her friends was having. The curse part came when what started out as a nice evening turned into a complete nightmare.

* * *

After grabbing a quick lunch with Bree and her friends, Dean decided that he should probably return to Bobby's before the man came looking for him. While Bobby didn't really tell him that he had to be home by a certain time, he was sure the man wouldn't like him staying out for hours and hours. And Dean knew that Sammy wouldn't like it, either.

After firming up the plans to meet at an old deserted farmhouse later on for the party, Dean said goodbye and made his way back to Bobby's. The whole drive home, he was trying to figure out how he was going to sneak out to go to the party. Sneaking out with Bobby Singer around was never an easy thing to pull off.

The second he pulled in the driveway, the front door flew open and Sam came bounding down the stairs.

"Where've you been?! Uncle Bobby was just getting ready to come look for you."

Dean rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics. "I just went into town, Sam. Uncle Bobby knew where I was."

"But you were gone for a long time, Dean. I…uh…. h-he was starting to get worried."

Dean rolled his eyes again. It was obvious that Sam had been worried, too, but Dean decided to let it go. "Well, I'm back now, shrimp. What have you been up to?"

"I'm not a shrimp, Dean. I'm almost as tall as you."

"In your dreams, Sammy. You'll never catch up with me."

"Pastor Jim said there's a good chance I might be taller than you someday, Dean."

"Not gonna happen. Now, what have you been doing while I was gone?"

"I finished my project," Sam answered excitedly. "Uncle Bobby said it would have gotten an A+ for sure. Wanna see it?"

Dean had absolutely no desire to see Sam's project, but he knew he'd never admit to it. Instead, he acted as interested as he could as Sam showed him his completed project.

"So, this is what you've been working on for the last month?"

"Yeah! It's pretty cool, right?"

"It's not cool, Sam," Dean finally answered after he looked it over completely. He noticed how Sam's face fell at his words, so he quickly continued. "It's freakin' awesome! Explain to me how it works again, okay?"

Dean listened as Sam explained how he had worked on the project and how he developed his conclusions. He actually _was _suitably impressed with Sam's efforts and results. He knew his geeky little brother loved projects and although he himself wasn't interested in such things, he could see the appeal.

"And you did this all by yourself?"

"Uncle Bobby helped me some. Especially at the end."

"You did good, Sammy. I'm proud of you."

Dean cherished the look on his brother's face. It wasn't often that either Winchester brother heard someone say they were proud of them and Dean knew that his brother deserved to hear it more often. He also knew that it wasn't _his_ approval that his brother really wanted. Sam knew Dean was proud of him. He knew that his brother was always there to support him. What he didn't know was how his father saw him. In both boys' minds, making John Winchester proud was a rare experience. He was a man that was hard to please on a good day and Sam and Dean rarely had good days.

Once Sam was done explaining everything again, Dean decided to feel him out about the party. "Hey, Sam….I, uh….I might need you to cover for me tonight, okay?"

"Why? What are you doing?"

"I got invited to a party and I really want to go."

"Uncle Bobby won't let you go, Dean. You know that."

"I know! That's why I said I need you to cover for me."

"You're gonna sneak out? Are you crazy? Uncle Bobby will kill you if he finds out!"

"He won't find out, Sam. I have a plan."

"He's gonna find out! And I don't wanna have anything to do with it."

"C'mom, Sam. If I get caught, I'll swear that you had nothing to do with it."

Sam figured it was all going to blow up in Dean's face and he really didn't want any part in it, but he knew he wouldn't be able to change Dean's mind. Once his brother made up his mind about something, he rarely changed it.

"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Dean ruffled Sam's hair before asking him to run through his science project one more time.

* * *

Dean's plan to sneak out didn't quite go as planned, thanks to Bobby having to leave suddenly to help a nearby hunter.

"I'll be back by morning, boys. Dean, make sure the usual precautions are in place. And you boys behave yourselves, you hear me? Stay out of trouble."

"Yes, sir," Dean and Sam both answered in sync.

"Stay away from the beer, Dean," Bobby warned. "I know exactly how many I have, so I'll know if you have any."

Dean looked affronted by Bobby's insinuation, but he couldn't deny that he had been planning on having one before the party. "Wouldn't dream of it, Uncle Bobby."

"Yeah, right. Idjit."

After a few more instructions and rules, Bobby reluctantly left. He knew the boys had been left alone for far longer periods than just a few hours, but he still didn't like doing it. He knew that John had been training the boys and they were more capable of taking care of themselves than other boys their age, but he still wished he didn't have to leave. The only thing he could do was trust that the boys would behave themselves and do what they were supposed to do.

Once Bobby was gone, Dean revisited his plan to go to the party. He knew he couldn't leave his brother home alone, but he didn't really want to take him with him_. But, he really, really wanted to go to the party._

"Hey, Sammy…. What do you say we check out that party? It'll be fun."

"You want me to go with you?"

"I can't leave you here alone, Sammy. And I really wanna go to the party."

"But I don't wanna go. I wanted to read the book Uncle Bobby gave me."

"You can read it tomorrow. C'mon, Sammy. We'll just go for a little while. If you get too bored, we'll come home, okay?"

After a few more minutes of Dean trying to talk Sam into it, Sam finally agreed, against his better judgement. Dean promised that they would leave the minute Sam wanted to and Sam believed him. So, with excitement on Dean's part and a little bit of trepidation on Sam's part, they left for the party.

* * *

The deserted farm was a little over three miles away from the salvage yard, so Dean decided they would just walk. They were used to running several miles a day, so three miles didn't seem too far for either of them. Once they were at the farm, Dean quickly found Bree and her group of friends sitting on the decrepit porch of the farmhouse. Sam watched as they all flirted with his brother, who was equally flirting right back.

"Who is this?" Bree asked, motioning over to Sam, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was.

"This is my brother, Sam. He's cool," Dean said with a smile.

"Hey, Sam. I'm Bree." Bree quickly introduced all of her friends to Sam. One of the girls moved forward to stand by Bree.

"I had to bring my brother, too, Dean. Maybe Sam could hang out with him for a while."

"What do you say, Sam?" Dean could tell that Sam really didn't want to hang out with someone he didn't know. But, he also didn't want to hang around and watch Dean flirting with a bunch of girls.

"I guess."

The girl grabbed Sam by the arm and started to lead him away. "He's over by the barn, Sam. He brought a book to read, but I'm sure he'd rather talk to you."

Sam gave Dean another look, but then allowed the girl to pull him away. He was sure he was in for a long, long night.

Dean watched as Sam walked away. A few seconds later, he turned his attention back to Bree and the other girls. Bree walked up to him and grabbed his arm, leaning into him as she looked up at him. "There's a bonfire in the back, Dean. Let's get you a drink and check it out."

Dean didn't waste any time in following the girls into the barn where the drinks were. As he waited for Bree to get them some beer, he looked around. There were around thirty kids hanging around the barn and the bonfire and they were all in varying stages of drunkenness. Dean didn't hesitate to down his first beer and Bree quickly got him another one. He wasn't planning on getting drunk, but he definitely wanted to loosen up some.

As they walked out to the bonfire, Dean noticed Sam sitting against a bale of hay, talking with a kid that looked to be about the same age. He thought it looked like they were getting along okay which made him happy. With Sam taken care of, he could focus his attention on the girl beside him, which made him even happier.

* * *

The next few hours passed with both Winchester boys having a good time. Sam and the kid he'd met, Chris, had a lot in common and they spent several hours discussing their favorite books and movies. Dean wasn't sure how many beers he'd had, but he was glad that they'd decided to walk instead of drive to the party. He knew there was no way he could drive safely. He and Bree were stuck together like glue, but he wasn't complaining.

Having moved over to the side of the barn, they were both getting to know each other a little better, in more ways than one. Dean was surprised to hear that Bree didn't have a boyfriend, but she quickly explained that she'd recently broken up with a boy named Robin.

"Robin? Really? I've never known a guy named Robin before. I thought that was a chick name."

"He goes by Rob," Bree explained. "He hates to be called Robin."

They talked a little longer before things started to get more intimate. Being hidden over on the side of the barn that no one came to worked out well for them. It was dark and it was private and it didn't take Dean and Bree very long to start making out.

Sometime later, they were both laying side by side on the ground- Dean hovering slightly over the top of Bree- when several things happened at once. At the same time Dean felt several burning sensations on his arm, someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him up. Before Dean could really do anything, he was spun around quickly. Just in time to feel someone punch him in the gut.

Dean had no idea what was going on, but he instantly went into fight mode. He could make out the sound of Bree screaming at whoever was punching him to stop and he suddenly realized that it was probably Robin that was attacking him.

Whoever it was, they had at least three inches and fifty pounds on him, and they were pretty good at landing punches. Fortunately, Dean was better. After the initial shock wore off, he immediately went on the offensive, pushing the guy back with punch after punch after punch. Eventually, the guy fell to the ground and Dean took a step back to gather himself, just in case it wasn't over.

He was bent over, taking a few deep breaths, his eyes never leaving the form in front of him, when he was suddenly pushed from behind. Not expecting to be pushed like that, Dean lost his balance and fell to the ground. Suddenly, he found himself being attacked by another boy who was even heavier than the first one. He also felt the same burning, fiery sensations he was feeling earlier.

By this time, the sounds of the fight had traveled to the bonfire, and suddenly Dean found that they were surrounded by all the kids at the party. Luckily, no one else joined the fight, but Dean thought it would have been nice if someone had stepped in on his behalf. Two against one was never fair, especially when the two were way, way bigger than the one to begin with.

Dean continued to hold his own against the two, but he often found himself sprawled out on the ground with one of them holding him down and the other one punching him in the gut. He continued to feel the stinging sensations, but they seemed like they were growing in intensity.

After what seemed like forever, Dean was finally able to get the upper hand. He had placed one well aimed kick to one poor guy's groin and then karate chopped the other guy in the neck, taking them both out of action in just two seconds. He knew he was playing dirty, but they had chosen to play dirty themselves the moment they decided to join forces.

Once he was convinced that they were down for good, Dean bent over to catch his breath. He could hear everyone talking around him, but he didn't even care what they were saying. His body hurt all over and he literally felt like he was on fire.

"Dean!" He heard someone yelling his name and it took him a few seconds to realize that it was Bree. "Dean! They're all over you!"

He had no idea what she was talking about, since all he could focus on was the pain he was feeling. Eventually, he started feeling someone's hands swatting at him and for a single second, he thought that someone else was trying to start at fight. Turning around quickly with his hands up and clenched into fists, he was surprised to see Sam and Bree standing in front of him. He wasn't prepared for them to start slapping at him.

"What are you doing?" he yelled as he slapped back at their hands.

"Dean, they're all over you. You need to get them off!" Sam yelled.

It took Dean several seconds to comprehend what his brother was saying, but when he finally did, he looked down to find himself covered in ants. "What the hell?!" he yelled loudly as he started to slap at himself.

"They're fire ants, Dean. You landed on one of their nests."

Dean was too focused on his own situation to notice that the other two guys were fighting off their own ants. He was surprised at how many of them were on him. And he was surprised at how much they hurt. After what seemed like a lifetime to him, Bree and Sam were convinced that they had gotten all of them off of him. Dean was too busy trying to breathe through the overwhelming burn he was feeling to notice at first.

He did notice, though, when Sam upended a bucket of cold water over him. He was mad at his brother at first, but then he noticed that the stinging and burning subsided a little with the cold water. Making sure he was clear of the mound of fire ants, Dean moved over to the door to the barn.

"I think he needs to go to the hospital," Bree said as she looked Dean over. "He has bites everywhere!"

"I'm not going to the hospital," Dean said angrily.

"Dean, you could have an allergic reaction to the bites. My cousin nearly died when she got bit by fire ants. And she only got bit a few times. You've been bitten at least a hundred times."

"I'm not going to the hospital," he repeated. "I'm fine."

"Well, you don't look fine," Sam said. "You look like crap, Dean."

"I said I'm fine!" Sam took a step back at the sound of Dean's voice.

"We should at least get you home. Bree, is there anyone here who could give us a ride?"

Bree looked around, but quickly realized that everyone there was too buzzed to be driving. "I don't think so. Can we call your uncle?"

"He's out of town right now," Sam explained, not sure how they were going to call anyone since they were at a deserted farm. "Probably won't be home for hours."

Bree looked nervously at Dean. "Do you think you can walk at all, Dean? My sister is staying at her friend's house and it's just about a mile down the road."

Dean didn't really feel like walking. In fact, he felt like he was going to throw up and that was the last thing he wanted to do in front of Bree. He could either look like a weakling and say he couldn't walk, or he could suck it up, walk to find Bree's sister, and probably end up puking his guts out along the way. Either way, he was screwed.

"I can walk," he finally answered. Without waiting for either of them to move, he pushed himself away from the barn and started walking toward the driveway. Bree and Sam ran to catch up.

* * *

Luckily, the place where Bree's sister was staying was only about a half a mile down the road. Dean was in a lot of pain and he was extremely nauseous, but he made the trip without losing his dinner on the side of the road.

Bree's sister was surprised to see them show up at the door, but one look at Dean had her grabbing for her car keys. Once they were all settled in her car, she turned to Dean. "Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the hospital?"

"Just take me home," Dean groaned, not sure how much longer he could take the pain and nausea.

"Please," Sam added.

The young lady quickly started the car and headed back out to the road. Once she was sure she knew where she was going, she studied the two boys that were sharing the back seat. She also studied her sister, who seemed completely infatuated with the oldest one.

Five minutes later, they pulled into the salvage yard. Both girls looked around with wide eyes. It was Bree that finally spoke. "Your uncle is Bobby Singer?"

"Yeah, why?"

Dean was getting a little annoyed, but he kept his mouth shut. Once the car was parked, Sam moved to help Dean out of the car. Bree made to follow, but Sam quickly shut her down. "It's okay. I got it from here. Thanks for the ride."

They both watched as the girls drove off. Dean thought that maybe the night hadn't been a complete loss as he saw Bree throw him a kiss out of the passenger window. Sam, on the other hand, thought it couldn't have gone any worse for his brother.

* * *

Once they were inside the house, Sam helped Dean up the stairs and into the bathroom. He thought that maybe a cold shower would help ease the burning sensation and Dean was inclined to agree, since the water that had been thrown on him had helped some.

Once he was done with the shower, he studied himself in the mirror. Almost every inch of his arms, chest and back were covered in little red bites. There were several on his face and on his legs, too, and unfortunately he even had a few in areas he'd rather not think about. He couldn't help but wonder how they could even get in those places to begin with. Thankfully, though, the majority of the bites seemed to be in the center of his body.

Dean was reluctant to get himself dressed again, because his clothes only made the pain and burning more intense, so he decided to just wear his boxers. It wasn't the first time he'd walked around in his boxers anyway. Once he was sitting on the edge of his bed, he wondered what he had to do to get the sensation to go away.

"Any idea how to treat these bites?

"I don't know," Sam said anxiously. "Maybe hydrocortisone cream? It works on other bug bites, so why not these?"

"Do we have any?"

Sam ran out of the room, returning half a minute later with an almost empty tube of hydrocortisone cream. "There's not much here, so we'll have to spread it thin, Dean. But, it should help some."

Dean took the tube and squeezed some out on his hand. He started with the ones on his chest and then handed the tube to Sam for his back. While he was burning all over, his chest and back seemed to be the worst.

Sam spread the rest of the tube over Dean's back. Dean sighed in relief as the burning and stinging let up a little. He knew it was only going to get worse, but he was hoping for at least a few hours of relief. Once Sam was done with the cream, he handed Dean a glass of water.

"Here you go. You need to hydrate after all that beer you had."

"I didn't have that much," Dean defended himself.

"Yes, you did. You had enough that someone was able to get the drop on you without you knowing it, Dean."

Dean groaned at that. He hoped his dad never found out about anything that had happened.

"Think you can sleep?"

"I don't know," Dean answered.

"I think you should try. Maybe you can sleep through some of the itching and pain."

"It doesn't itch, really."

"It will pretty soon."

Dean groaned, but he laid down gently onto his side, trying to keep the cream from rubbing off. "This sucks! And how are we going to keep Uncle Bobby from finding out?"

"Keep Uncle Bobby from finding out what?" a deep voice boomed from the doorway. "What trouble did you boys get into already?" Bobby stepped into the room, but stopped abruptly when his eyes landed on Dean. "What the hell happened to you, boy?" he thundered.

Dean groaned at the sound of Bobby's voice thundering in the small room and suddenly he was feeling even sorrier for himself. _They were definitely in a world of trouble._

* * *

Present Day

"Remember how mad Bobby was after that fire ant incident?" Sam chuckled.

"I try not to think about that day," Dean groaned. "Or the rest of that week, either."

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen Bobby so mad at you. And I don't think I ever thanked you for taking all the blame on that one, either."

"I told you I'd make sure you didn't get in trouble for anything, didn't I? And you should be glad I did. Bobby sure does know how to hand out punishment, doesn't he? By the time he was done handing out my sentence, I almost wished he'd just take me out to the woodshed and get it over with. That would have been easier in the long run."

Sam laughed at the memory. He could remember vividly the look on his brother's face as Bobby lectured him on every stupid thing he'd done that night. And Dean had definitely spent the next week paying for his stupidity. But, he knew that Dean didn't really care, because once his punishment was over, he hooked up with Bree again and spent an entire evening with her "looking at the stars." Sam was sure they were up to much more than that.

* * *

Once they were done in the Emergency Room, Sam drove a slightly drugged up Dean back to the Bed and Breakfast. Dean on pain meds was a sight to behold, in his opinion. Sam always thought it endearing how his brother could go from big, badass hunter to the childish version of the man that practically giggled at everything and made you want to hug him when he looked at you with his wide eyes. Not that he would ever tell Dean that.

He led Dean carefully up the stairs to their room and settled him down on the bed straight away. Sam started pulling Dean's boots and socks off, halfway listening as he was going on and on about something that didn't make sense. Trying to get his brother's jeans off turned out to be too much work, so Sam decided to just let him sleep in them. He was surprised at how fast Dean fell asleep once he stopped messing with him.

After getting himself ready for bed, he turned out the light and climbed into his own bed. Dean had already tossed around in the bed a little and his blanket was already hanging off the bed. Sam knew it was probably pointless to cover him back up, so he just closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

Sam had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but figured by the moonlight shining in through the crack in the curtains that it couldn't have been more than a few hours. He had no idea what had woken him up, so he just laid there, hoping to go back to sleep. He was just on the verge on falling back to sleep when Dean's voice pierced the silence.

"Damn it, Sam. I'm hot. I don't want the blanket back on."

Sam turned to look at Dean just in time to see someone- or something- standing at his bedside, holding the blanket in its hand. He couldn't make out who or what it was, only that it was human shape and appeared to be wearing a long white robe or gown. He jumped out of bed quickly, but even before his feet hit the floor, the shape disappeared in front of him.

"What the hell?!" he yelled as he turned on the light. "Dean! Did you see that?"

Dean tried to sit up on the bed, but Sam could tell that he was still pretty groggy from the pain medication. "Dean! Wake up!"

"Why are you yelling, Sam?"

"Because there was someone in our room, Dean. Didn't you see it?"

"No."

"Who were you talking to, Dean?"

"You, Sammy. I told you three different times that I was hot, but you kept putting the blanket back on me. You need to clean your ears out, little brother."

"Dean, that wasn't me," Sam tried to explain.

"What do you mean it wasn't you? Who else would it be, Sam? Last time I checked, you and I were the only ones staying in this room. Unless I brought a hot chick home from the hospital. Is that it? Did I pick up a hot nurse and bring her back here?"

"Of course not! Don't be stupid, Dean. You're injured."

"Since when did that ever stop me? Remember that time in Georgia when I broke my arm? That didn't stop me from picking up that cute girl at the video store. Remember?"

"I remember you trying to sneak her into our room, but Dad busted you. That I remember."

"Oh yeah. That sucked."

"Dean, you're missing the point here. Someone was in the room with us. And they just disappeared when I turned on the light."

"Are you sure, Sammy? Are you sure you weren't dreaming or something?"

"I'm sure." Sam walked over to their duffel bag and pulled out their EMF meter. As soon as he turned it on, it started going crazy.

"Well, damn," Dean said. "It looks like our vacation is officially over."

* * *

Author's note: Whew! This was a long one. Almost 7600 words! And I think maybe the plot was moved along a little, lol. Oh, and I hope I didn't offend anyone with the name game between Dean and Bree. I have absolutely nothing against any of the names I used.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

Winchester Family Vacations

Chapter 7

* * *

It was just the Winchester's luck, right? The first vacation they'd taken in years and they came across a hunt. Dean wouldn't admit it to his brother, but he was secretly enjoying himself at the Bed and Breakfast and for the first time in years, he found himself feeling relaxed.

Although he never really thought of himself as the relaxing on the beach kind of guy, he had to admit that it wasn't that bad of an idea- the sun shining on your face, the sound of the waves spilling over onto the beach, the wind gently blowing your hair. Of course, Sam never stopped complaining about the wind, since it blew his hair into his face, and Dean never stopped laughing about it.

But now that was all done. The "vacation" was officially over and they were officially back on the job. And while Dean loved hunting, he was a little sad to see it end.

He also was a little underwhelmed by the ghost they were facing. What kind of ghost picked up after people, hanging up wet towels and folding clothes? Ghosts didn't usually spend their time tucking blankets around grown men and cleaning clam chowder off of amulets. This particular ghost was not their usual vengeful spirit. At least not yet.

Dean stepped out of the shower to find Sam waiting for him, holding the ointment and bandages that the hospital had sent home with them. Tightening the towel around his waist, he made his way over to his own bed, grabbing his clothes along the way. "Let's get this show on the road. I'm starving."

Sam stepped over to the bed and took care of redressing Dean's arm as fast as he could. Once he was done, Dean finished getting ready. Sam laughed at how loud his brother's stomach was growling. "Hey, don't laugh, Sammy! I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon, remember?"

"I haven't either, but my stomach isn't growling like a starving lion's." Just as he finished the last word, Sam's stomach growled even louder and Dean just rolled his eyes. As soon as Dean was finished, they left the room and headed downstairs.

They were way too late for breakfast, but there was still an amazing assortment of pastries, fruits, and juices waiting for them in the dining room. Dean filled his plate up with as many pastries as he could fit on it and grabbed a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee. Sam's plate was filled with fruit and a single pastry.

As they sat down at the table, they started talking about their next step, which of course meant research. _Dean hated the research part of things, unless it included a cold beer and a hot librarian. Or a hot waitress. Or a hot anything, really. He wasn't picky._

Just as Sam was getting up to track down the hostess, another couple walked into the dining room, obviously excited about something. Sam muttered a quick hello to them and both he and his brother were ready to brush the young couple off until they heard what they were talking about.

"Please tell me you saw her, too, Rosie. I know it was dark in the room, but she was standing right next to the bed."

"I _did_ see her. Scared me to death to wake up and see her just standing there like that. Just like your sister said."

Dean elbowed Sam in the arm, motioning towards the young couple who was still loading their plates with food. Sam stood up and walked towards the small buffet, acting like he was refilling his plate.

"Hey, Sammy…. Get me another one of those Danish thingies, okay?" Dean said rather loudly.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother, but turned his attention back to the couple. "Pardon me, but I couldn't help but overhear that you saw something in your room. Do you think it was a ghost?"

The couple shared a look before answering.

"It was definitely a ghost. Actually, it was _the_ ghost. The one this Bed and Breakfast is famous for."

Dean rolled his eyes, figuring it was just their Winchester luck that would have them staying in a hotel that was known to have a ghost. Usually, those stories bore little truth, but he was pretty sure it was true this time. He watched as Sam continued to talk with the couple.

"Really? I didn't know there was a ghost here. Do you know anything about it?"

The couple finished filling their plates and stepped over to the table. Sam followed them, setting a plate of danishes down by his brother before sitting down himself.

"Her name is Rue," the young girl explained. "Most stories say that she was the Lightkeeper's wife many years ago. They had two daughters and one of them drowned. There's supposed to be an unmarked grave somewhere on the hillside, but we haven't found it yet. Anyway, after the little girl died, Rue took her own life and now haunts this place, looking for her daughter."

"And you think you saw her? What did you see?"

This time it was the young man who answered. "It was really kinda creepy, you know? Rose and I had been asleep for a few hours when I thought I heard something in the room. It was really dark, but there was just a little bit of moonlight shining through the bottom of the curtains. I saw a dark shape standing next to the bed and at first I thought it was just a shadow of something in the room. But after a few minutes, I realized it was something else. I nudged Rose, trying to get her to wake up, and eventually she did. Anyway, all I could make out was that it looked like a woman, wearing some kind of long skirt. It looked like something you'd see in a Shakespeare play or something."

"And it got really cold in the room," Rose added. "Like super cold."

"Did the ghost do anything?" Dean asked, now caught up in the story himself.

"Not really. It just seemed like she was looking at us. And it seemed like she was sad."

Dean cleared his throat and stood up, motioning for Sam to do the same. "Sounds creepy, I guess. If you believe in that sort of thing," he said with a laugh. Sam gave him a weird look.

"You don't believe in ghosts?" Rose asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. I guess I'm the kind of guy that needs proof. What room are you guys staying in?" he asked casually. Sam wasn't sure why Dean was playing it the way he was, but he kept his mouth shut.

"We're in the Cape Cove room. We knew this place was haunted and that's supposed to be one of the most haunted rooms. There's a stair case that goes up into the attic in that room and she's been known to hang out up there. It seems like the stories were right."

"I don't know, guys. If she didn't say or do anything, maybe it was just a shadow or something. Have you been up in the attic yet?"

"The door to the staircase is in the back of the closet, but it's locked. I don't think they want people to go up there."

Sam and Dean shared another look. "Well, it all seems pretty interesting, I guess," Dean continued. "Aren't you guys just a little afraid of the fact that there was a ghost in your room last night?"

"No, man. It's cool. Rue is supposed to be a harmless ghost. She's never hurt anyone."

"Yet," Dean muttered, causing Sam to kick his shin under the table.

Sam cleared his throat, trying to ignore the glare Dean was sending his way. "Hey, Dean… we should probably get going. It's already almost noon."

They both said a quick goodbye to Rose and her boyfriend, who they'd never found out a name for. Once they were outside of the B&B, Sam turned to Dean. "What was that all about? Acting like you didn't believe in ghosts…."

"I don't know. They just seemed way to gung-ho about it all and I thought a healthy dose of skepticism might be helpful. People underestimate ghosts all the time, remember?

Sam looked at Dean oddly for a few seconds, but then his expression changed. "You're thinking of that summer we were in Tennessee, aren't you?"

"Yeah, Sammy. Doesn't this remind you of that a little?"

"I guess. A little maybe…"

"Sam, people like Rose and what's his name shouldn't be messing around with things they don't know anything about. That's how people die, remember?"

"Maybe she's harmless, Dean. Just like the stories say."

"And maybe she's not. Ghosts are- at the least- unpredictable, Sam. You should know that by now."

"Of course, I know that," Sam defended. "But unpredictable doesn't necessarily mean dangerous, Dean."

"Yeah, well tell that to seventeen-year-old Dean and thirteen-year-old Sam. Because if my memory serves correctly, unpredictable definitely meant dangerous in Memphis."

* * *

Summer 1996

It was John's idea to stay a week in Memphis that summer. They had spent the last two weeks on a hunt for a wraith that had been terrorizing a small town just outside of Memphis. And they were tired. The hunt hadn't gone well at all, and John was feeling guilty for the injuries his sons sported afterwards.

And that's what prompted the week off afterwards. That and the fact that John had always wanted to visit Graceland. So, they holed up inside a crappy motel for a few days, allowing the boys to heal up from the hunt. Once they were mostly healed, John gave them a little more free reign, allowing Dean to take his little brother to a nearby lake or to the movie theater nearby.

It was at the lake that they met a group of kids their age. More Dean's age, actually, but there were a few kids that were closer to Sam's age, too. The kids had all grown up in the small part of Memphis they were staying in, so they were excited to see new kids and were quick to invite them into their group. Sam and Dean were a little reluctant to get involved, knowing that they wouldn't be there for too long.

But then Dean fell in love.

Of course, he would argue that it wasn't love, but Sam would argue that it was. He'd seen his brother with girls before, but this time was different. Sam watched as Dean's usual cockiness dissipated whenever Anna was around, making room for a softer, less edgy, more real Dean. The Dean that usually was only ever seen by Sam and Bobby. Dad didn't even see that particular Dean, since he always tried his hardest to not show any kind of weakness or vulnerability in front of the man. John Winchester didn't realize it, but Dean was a young man with many, many layers.

After meeting Anna at the lake, Dean did whatever he could to spend time with her. He even faked being sick one day when John wanted to go on a quick salt and burn fifty miles away. The second John left, Dean threw his shoes on and made Sam do the same. Sam really didn't want to leave the reasonable cool motel room, but he knew there would be no arguing with his brother. Dean had recently had his butt handed to him by their dad for leaving Sam alone while he went and hustled some pool and he wasn't eager to make that mistake again.

Luckily, their motel room wasn't too far away from a small shopping center where Anna was waiting for them. Dean promised Sam that he would buy him a pretzel and a cookie if he made himself scarce- without leaving Dean's sight, of course- so Dean could be alone with Anna. And of course, Sam was okay with that. It wasn't very often that they splurged on junk food like that.

After spending almost an hour watching Dean and Anna talk and kiss from several tables away, Sam was ready to go. Luckily, Dean had grown tired of the shopping center, too, so he motioned for Sam to follow them as they walked to a park just across the street. Sam spent another hour idly swinging on the swings while Dean and Anna sat against the base of a big oak tree, kissing again.

Eventually, Sam called out to his brother, reminding him that they needed to get home before their dad did. Dean reluctantly said goodbye to Anna who was heading back to the mall to meet up with her friends, but not before making plans to meet up at a theater the next night. Sam was surprised that his macho brother agreed to go to a local production of a play, but he wasn't about to argue. Sam had always liked watching play productions.

* * *

They made it back to the motel room thirty minutes before a slightly beat up John returned. They were both super thankful, since John wasn't in the best of moods. After yelling at Sam for leaving his shoes by the door and at Dean for not having dinner ready, the boys decided to hang out by the empty, cracked pool while their dad cooled off.

Once they were driven back in by the mosquitos, Dean sat down and turned on the television, finding an old war movie to watch. He hoped that maybe his dad would join him, knowing how much the man liked war movies, but John just sat at the small table, poring over his journal and a stack of papers. Dean couldn't help but feel annoyed by the fact that the man couldn't ever put the job aside for a single second. _They were supposed to be on vacation._

Sam, who was sitting next to Dean on the small sofa reading a book, easily picked up on Dean's annoyance. Eventually, John put his journal away and went into the bathroom. When he came out, he sat down on one of the beds, tiredly rubbing a hand over his face.

"You must be feeling better, Dean," he said, eyeing the boy critically.

"Yes, sir. Must have been a four hour bug or something."

Sam snickered at that, but quickly stopped when he saw the look on their dad's face.

"I could have used you today, Dean."

"C'mon, Dad. It was just a simple salt and burn."

They both watched as John's face darkened and Dean wished that he'd just kept his mouth shut.

"There's never anything simple when it comes to hunting, Dean," John growled. "That kind of thinking is what gets hunters killed and I never want to hear you say that again."

"Yes, sir," Dean muttered, sharing a look with his brother. He couldn't even count how many times he'd heard his dad refer to something as a simple this or that, usually whenever he was trying to justify taking Sam on a hunt with them. But, John was a "do as I say, not as I do" kind of man, and his boys were both perfectly aware of that.

After a few minutes of tense silence, John spoke again. "So, what did you boys do then? Sam?"

Sam looked up in surprise and then looked over at his brother, trying to figure out what to say. Dean lipped the word "park" at Sam, pointing at himself and then back to Sam. Sam was pretty sure that Dean didn't want John to know that he'd flaked on a hunt to hang out with a girl.

"Um, we just went to the park, Dad. Um, Dean was feeling better, but not great, so he just sat under a big shade tree while I swung on the swings."

They could both tell that John wasn't really happy to learn that they had spent their time playing at a park, and it made Dean a little angry.

"We're supposed to be on vacation, remember? You can't expect us to spend all our time in this crappy motel room, Dad."

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot expect," John said loudly. "And yes, we're on a vacation, but I can pull the plug on it whenever I want. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," they both answered.

"I'm not mad that you went to the park, boys. I was just surprised that something like that would interest you. Playing on toys never really seemed to do it for you two."

Dean wondered how the man would even know what "did it" for them, but he kept his mouth shut. Before he could say anything, Sam spoke up.

"It was too hot to do much else. The lake is too far away to walk and we didn't have money to go to the movies, so we went to the park."

"What about the rest of the week? Do you have plans? Because if not, I could use your help with some research."

Dean rolled his eyes, wondering why it was so hard for his dad to understand the meaning of the word vacation. "Dude, we're on vacation," he groaned. The second those words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back. He knew how much his dad hated to be called dude. To his surprise, John let it go, though.

"Well, if you don't have plans, you might as well make yourself useful, right?"

"We do have plans, actually," Dean said before his dad could get any other ideas. "Me and Sammy are gonna go to a movie marathon tomorrow with the kids we met at the lake."

"Oh, you are, are you?" The minute those words left his dad's mouth, Dean realized his mistake, making him wonder why he was so off his 'dad-game' at the moment.

"I mean, if that's okay with you, sir," he immediately corrected.

John looked at Dean for what seemed like forever before turning his gaze to Sam. Once he was done looking at his youngest, he looked back at Dean. "What movies are you seeing?"

"Um, Night of the Living Dead, Return of the Living Dead, and Return of the Living Dead two and three."

John looked back over at Sam, knowing how much the kid didn't like scary movies. He couldn't quite figure out the look on Sam's face. "And you're okay with this, Sammy? Doesn't sound like the kind of movies you like to watch."

Sam looked over at Dean before answering. Dean could tell he was confused, but he trusted his brother to just go with it. After mouthing _'trust me'_ to Sam, he was relieved when the boy finally answered their dad. "I'm okay with it. It's not like they're really scary or anything. Besides, Dean said if I went with him, he'd take me to see that movie I wanted to see."

"Well, I guess you do have plans, don't you?" John said, seemingly disappointed at the idea. "How much does this cost, Dean? And how are you getting there?"

"The tickets are twelve bucks apiece and we can take the bus."

"Twelve bucks?!" John didn't look impressed with that answer.

"C'mon, Dad…..it's four separate movies and if you buy two tickets you get a free thing of popcorn. That's a pretty good deal for twelve bucks." He and Sam held their breath and watched as John leaned forward and took his wallet out of his pocket. Seconds later, he was handing Dean a wad of money.

"This should be enough for you to get a couple of drinks, too."

"Thanks, Dad," Dean said quietly, letting his breath out slowly. He really hadn't expected the man to be okay with their plan, but he surely wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

* * *

An hour later, John put on his shoes and said he was going out to get something out of the Impala. The second he left the motel room, Sam turned to Dean. "Why did you lie to Dad? We're not going to see Night of the Living Dead movies, Dean."

"I know! But c'mon, Sam….. Do you really want to explain to him that we're going to a theater to see a musical? Because I don't."

"Why not?" Sam asked, completely confused by his brother's thinking.

"Because we're Winchesters," Dean explained as if it was the most obvious reason in the world. "Winchesters don't do musicals, dude."

"Says who?"

"Says me! And I'm pretty sure Dad would say the same."

"Dean, if he finds out you lied to him, he'll kill you."

"He won't find out. I already checked, Sammy. There's a movie theater right down the street from where we're going and they _are_ having a Night of the Living Dead marathon. The play lasts for almost three hours, so that gives us enough time to get some food, too. We can just tell Dad that the movies were stupid and we bugged out early. He'll never know."

Sam didn't look convinced, but he had always wanted to see a production of West Side Story, so he kept his concerns to himself. He'd come to regret that in the future, of course.

The rest of the night was spent with John sitting at the table researching some local ghost legends while Sam and Dean alternated between playing poker and arguing with each other over stupid stuff. When the arguing began to take over everything and became more physical, John shut them down really quick.

"Okay, boys….time for bed!" he yelled over the current argument. "Dean, get off your brother and help him up. Sam, quit your whining. If you don't want to wrestle with your brother, then don't bait him like you do."

"I didn't bait him," Sam answered petulantly. "He's just a jerk."

"Yeah, well you're a bitch," Dean said as he reached down and helped Sam up off the floor.

"Do you two even care that I'm standing right here?" John asked. He usually let the bad language slide, but lately it seemed his boys were pushing the limits. _Or maybe they were just pushing his buttons._

"Sure we care, Dad," Dean said with his devil-may-care grin. "I mean, you did just give us money for tomorrow."

John reached out and cuffed the back of Dean's head, laughing as Dean tried unsuccessfully to duck out of the way. "What do you say you at least _try_ to tone it down a bit?"

"Sure thing, Dad." Dean quickly agreed, but John was pretty sure it wouldn't last.

"Okay, bedtime."

"Dude, it's not even ten o'clock yet," Dean groaned.

"First off, I'm not your dude, Dean. Second, I don't care if it's only eight o'clock. I'm trying to concentrate, but I can't. Go to bed!"

Dean and Sam grumbled for a few minutes, but after a few exaggerated threats from their dad, they finally did what they were told.

* * *

After almost a twenty minute bus ride, Sam and Dean found themselves outside of the Orpheum Theatre. It was a Renaissance-style building with multiple windows on the front part of the building. The marquee was lit up in red and gold lights, announcing the production of West Side Story. Dean could feel Sam's excitement as they stood under the marquee, waiting on Anna.

They weren't waiting long when nice car pulled up to the theater and Anna stepped out of it. After talking with whoever was driving the car for a few minutes, she turned back to Sam and Dean. Dean's eyes lit up at the sight of her and Sam couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Hey, Anna." Sam nearly laughed at Dean's attempt at being nonchalant, but pulled himself together before he could. He figured there wasn't any sense in embarrassing his big brother.

Anna quickly made her way over to Dean and hugged him. Once they let go of each other, she turned to greet Sam. Sam actually liked Anna and was happy that Dean had met her. He especially liked that she didn't make him feel like a third wheel.

"I'm so glad you could make it," Anna said as she turned back to Dean. Dean smiled at her and Sam wasn't sure, but he thought his brother might be blushing.

"Are you sure about this? We're not going to get in trouble for sneaking in?" Sam wasn't completely sure that he liked their plan.

"C'mon, Sam. Live a little," Dean said, nudging his brother in the arm a little harder than necessary.

"Ow, Dean! That hurt!"

"Sorry, Sammy."

Anna smiled at Sam, hoping to make him feel better. "We're not really sneaking in, Sam. My uncle runs this theater and I asked if we could come and watch the dress rehearsal. The play opens tomorrow night, so this is one of the last rehearsals before that."

"See? Nothing to worry about," Dean said as he nudged his brother again. This time it was a gentler nudge.

Once they were inside the theater, Anna went to the Box Office and had them call her uncle. Sam and Dean looked around the ornately designed entrance, taking in the grand staircases that led to the theater itself and the huge chandelier on the ceiling. Sam was pretty sure that he hadn't ever seen something so grand and even Dean seemed to be impressed.

Once Anna had checked in with her uncle, she led them to the mezzanine level. Both Sam and Dean were still looking around them, wide-eyed and a little excited. Dean, of course, was trying to play it cool in front of Anna, but she understood how he felt. The Orpheum Theatre was an impressive place with its gold ceilings, red seats, and long red velvet curtains on the stage.

Anna led them to their seats, seating Sam in the aisle seat, then Dean, and then herself. Dean wished that Sam was sitting a little further away, but he also knew that he needed to keep an eye on the kid. Turning his back slightly to his brother, he leaned in and kissed Anna softly. Sam rolled his eyes, wondering how much of the play rehearsal Dean was actually going to see.

After almost fifteen minutes, the stage curtains opened and the lights dimmed down. Sam sat up straighter in his chair, excited for what was coming. He noticed that both Dean and Anna were focused on the stage, as well.

By the end of the second act, Sam started noticing that it was unusually cold in the theater. He wondered if Dean thought it was cold, too, but he didn't want to interrupt his brother's focus. Eventually, though, Dean was drawn to the fact that Sam was squirming restlessly in his seat.

"Dude, what's wrong with you? You gotta go to the bathroom?" Dean whispered loudly.

"No," he immediately answered, embarrassed at the thought of Anna hearing Dean's words. "I'm cold, Dean. Doesn't it seem really cold in here to you?"

Dean looked at his brother for a few seconds and then nodded. "It is a little cold, I guess. They must have the air conditioner turned way up or something."

"I guess," Sam answered reluctantly.

He turned back to watching the stage, trying to keep his mind off of how cold he was. He was just getting back into the play, almost forgetting the cold, when Dean turned and hissed at him.

"Jeez, Sammy…. Quit touching me!"

"I'm not touching you!"

"Yeah, you are. So, knock it off," Dean growled.

Sam looked at his brother, trying to figure out why he thought he was touching him, but Dean's attention was back on the stage.

After another ten minutes, Dean turned back to Sam and punched him in the arm. "Dude, knock it off," he said angrily.

"I'm not doing anything," Sam whispered back.

"You keep poking me in the back, Sam."

"I swear I'm not," Sam said, trying to defend himself.

Suddenly, Anna shot up from her chair with a little yelp of surprise, causing both Sam and Dean to jump in surprise, too.

"Something just pulled my hair," she said, looking around the seats strangely.

"It wasn't me," Dean said instantly.

"I know. You were taking to Sam and it came from behind me."

"Maybe your hair just got caught in the seat or something," he said even though he really didn't think that was the case.

"Maybe….."

When he felt something tug at his own hair, Dean started to get a little suspicious, wondering if there was something supernatural going on. Luckily, it was intermission time, so as soon as the curtains closed, he turned to Anna. "So, this theater is really cool. Do you know much about its history?"

Sam eyed his brother, knowingly.

"Not really. I think the original theater was built sometime before 1900. It burnt to the ground at one point and I think it was rebuilt in the 1920s."

"Really? Did anyone die in the fire?"

"I don't think so. I think it happened when the theater was closed."

Sam watched as Dean thought about what Anna had told him. "Do you think anyone's _ever_ died here?" he asked, knowing that his brother was about to ask the same question.

"Don't tell me you think this is about the ghost?" Anna said with a laugh.

"Ghost? What ghost?" Dean sat up a little straighter in his seat, turning to face Anna completely.

"Well, it's actually more like ghosts. Plural. My grandfather used to tell me stories of the Orpheum Theatre ghosts, but I never believed him. That's crazy, right?"

Sam and Dean shared a secretive look. "Do you remember any of the ghost stories?" Dean asked.

"I guess. There's one story about a girl named Mary. I think Grandpa said she was eleven or twelve? And another story is about a ghost of a man who was sent here to lead Mary to the next life. She didn't want to leave with him, so he stayed here, too. There are other stories, but I really can't remember them. All I know is that the stories say that the ghosts in this theater are all harmless."

Sam and Dean shared another look, but this time Anna caught it. "Wait! You don't think that stuff is real, do you? That there are actual ghosts here? That's crazy."

"It's not as crazy as you think, Anna," Dean said and this time it was Sam that did the punching. Dean grabbed his arm where the punch landed and glared at his brother. "Ow, Sam. That hurt!"

Sam was just about to punch Dean again when the house lights went down and the rehearsal resumed. Instead of punching, he just looked up at his brother, wondering what they were going to do. They were both pretty convinced that there were ghosts afoot in the theater, but Anna was looking at them like they were crazy. Dean decided to play it safe and ignore the obvious ghost signs for the moment.

* * *

Almost an hour and a half later, the rehearsal was over and the Winchester boys were ready to leave. There had been several other ghost signs during the rehearsal, but they were harmless. Neither boy brought the ghost thing back up again in front of Anna.

Once they left the theater, Dean checked his watch and decided that they had enough time to go for some burgers and ice cream. This time, Dean didn't make Sam sit at another table and they all had a good time talking about the rehearsal and making plans for the next day to meet up at the lake. Once they were done eating and talking, Dean spent a good ten minutes saying goodbye to Anna while Sam paced the sidewalk by the bus stop, keeping his eye out for the silver Camry Anna's dad drove. Dean reluctantly pulled himself away when Sam yelled that he'd spotted the Camry.

Once Anna was gone, they sat at the bus station, waiting for the bus that would take them back towards the motel. Dean looked at his watch and saw that they still had at least another two hours before their dad would be expecting them back. With an idea suddenly popping up in his head, he turned to his brother.

"Hey, Sammy….. what do you say we go back to the theater and check it out? Dad's not expecting us back yet and the last bus isn't for another hour."

"No way," Sam answered immediately. "Let's just go back to the motel, Dean."

"C'mom, Sam. This is our chance to do a little hunting without Dad breathing down our neck. We don't have to really do anything. I just want to check it out. See if it really is a ghost."

Sam tried to argue against it, but Dean wore him down rather quickly. "In and out, Sammy. Just give me twenty minutes to look around."

"How are we going to get in? The theater is closed up for the night."

"I checked out their lock system on one of the side doors while we were there. It's just a basic pin tumbler lock and I have my lock pick set."

Sam still wasn't convinced, but he was starting to get excited about the idea of hunting with his brother without their dad there. Sam always got nervous when he was on a hunt with John and loved it when they split up and he was sent off with Dean.

Standing next to the door and acting as a lookout for Dean, Sam waited patiently for Dean to pick the lock. It didn't take more than a few minutes and suddenly they were inside the theater.

"Let's just head back up to where we were sitting," Dean said as he led the way. There were a few lights still on inside, so they easily made their way back to the mezzanine level.

Making their way back to the seats they had been sitting in, Sam and Dean looked around the area.

"Does it feel cold in here to you?" Dean asked.

"Yeah…."

Dean looked around, not really knowing what to do to entice the ghost to make an appearance. He was just about to call out when several of the wall lights started flickering.

"Dean…."

"It's okay, Sam. Just stay behind me, okay?"

Sam scrambled to get behind his brother. Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch of salt that he usually carried with him everywhere he went. "Hello?" he called out loudly.

No one answered, of course, but they were both pretty sure they heard the faint sound of someone giggling several rows back. They also noticed that it had indeed gotten colder.

Dean slowly turned around in the aisle, keeping Sam behind him at all times. They heard the giggle again, this time seeming to come from a closer point. Dean looked over at Sam, not surprised to see Sam's eyes widened.

"Maybe we should go," Dean said. "There's definitely something going on here, so we should probably do some research before we come back." He had just turned to leave, keeping one hand on Sam's arm, when Sam was suddenly pulled away from him.

"Dean!" he yelled as he stumbled backward. Dean lurched forward, trying to stop Sam from reaching the balcony of the mezzanine and falling over. He thought he could make out the shape of someone pulling on Sam, but he wasn't really sure. All he knew was that he couldn't let his little brother get hurt.

The giggling that they had heard behind them suddenly turned into the sounds of a child crying and Dean suddenly wondered if they were dealing with a second ghost. Anna had said that there were stories of multiple ghosts, so with one messing with Sam and another crying behind him, he figured it was true.

Sam, who was no longer stumbling towards the balcony, had regained his balance and was making his way back to Dean. Dean grabbed onto him as soon as he was within reach and pulled him close. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Dean, what's going on? Is there more than one ghost?"

"I think so, Sammy. Let's get out of here." Dean started to move toward the stairs, but something suddenly appeared in front of him. He could make out the shape of what looked like a woman, but before he could say or do anything else, the woman lurched toward him. Suddenly, he felt cold hands wrapping around his neck and he couldn't breathe.

He had reached out to grab the woman's arms, hoping to somehow pry her hands off of him, but found that he couldn't lift his arms up past his chest. "Sam," he gasped, using up what little air he had left in his lungs. "Pocket….salt….."

Sam quickly reached into the front pocket of his brother's jeans and found the pouch of salt. Pulling it open, he swung it around, slinging salt on the apparition in front of Dean. Immediately, the apparition disappeared, leaving Dean to collapse to the ground, trying desperately to catch his breath. Sam knelt down next to him, one hand on Dean's back while the other held out the pouch of salt, ready for the ghost to return.

They sat there for several minutes while Dean's vision stopped blackening and the spots disappeared. Once it seemed like he was breathing normally, they both stood up. "We need to get out of here," Sam said, his arm still resting on Dean's back.

Dean had just taken two steps down the staircase when the air suddenly grew colder again and he felt something shove him in the back. Sam, who was in front of him, but off to the side of the staircase, barely missed being caught up in Dean's forward momentum. Instead, he stumbled down a few steps, but was able to grab onto the handrail and keep himself from falling.

Dean wasn't so lucky.

Sam watched as Dean tumbled down the stairs, coming to a stop with a loud thud at the bottom. He was sure that he was about to be shoved from behind, too, when several things happened at once.

The sound of the child crying grew louder, but was now joined by the sound of a man yelling for someone to stop. Sam looked up at the top of the stairs and saw several vague forms that could only be ghosts. He couldn't really make out who they were, but he thought that one of them looked like a child. Before he could think any more on it, he heard another voice yelling from below. This one was decidedly human in nature.

"Get down!" the voice yelled.

Sam immediately dropped to the floor, still hanging onto the handrail. The loud sound of a shotgun blast sounded close to him and he looked up just in time to see the apparitions disappear. Once he realized they were gone, he looked back to see who was responsible for dispersing them. He was surprised to see the familiar shape of his dad moving over to where Dean was still laying.

"Dean, are you okay?" John asked as he checked his son over.

"I think I broke my ankle," Dean answered miserably. And then with his next breath, he was asking for Sam.

"I'm right here," Sam said as he made his way over to his brother.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" John said angrily. And then, "Never mind. We're having this conversation once we get back home. Sam, help me with your brother."

Sam rushed down the steps to help get Dean up. Once Dean was up and able to bear at least a little bit of his own weight, they started heading towards the door of the theater. Dean was relieved to see the Impala parked on the dark side street where the stage door was. He knew he wasn't going to be able to walk too much more.

The ride back to the motel room was made in an uncomfortable silence with both boys watching their father closely. They could tell that he was pissed, and they really couldn't blame him, but they both hoped that he would listen to them when they tried to explain.

They should have known better.

* * *

_Present Day_

"Dad was so pissed at us," Dean said with a laugh.

"What did you expect? We went into a hunt without doing any research. We knew better than to do something stupid like that."

"Yeah, it definitely wasn't one of our most shining moments, right?"

"What do you mean? It was all your idea, remember?"

"How could I forget, Sammy? I don't think I've ever seen Dad so mad. And remember that lecture he gave us on never underestimating a ghost?"

"How could I forget? He punctuated nearly every sentence with a smack on our butts with that damn paddle. If I remember right, you got double what I did because you wouldn't keep your damn mouth shut about being too old to be spanked. How did that work out for you?"

Dean groaned at the memory. "He was definitely pissed. Didn't even care that I sprained my ankle. Just started whaling on me. Hard."

"Well, we did actually deserve it, though, didn't we? That supposedly harmless ghost nearly killed us. Dad always said that every ghost is dangerous and unpredictable. I bet he'd say the same thing about this Rue ghost."

Dean groaned. "Can't we just have one normal weekend? Just one? That's all I'm asking for here."

"Normal isn't in the cards for us, Dean. You should know that by now."

"I do, Sammy. It's just a little wishful thinking on my part. So, I guess that means vacation is over and we're on a job now."

"That's probably for the best anyway, Dean. Every vacation we've ever been on has ended with you being hurt."

Dean groaned again. "Don't remind me. Snake bites, sprained ankles, jellyfish stings, fire ant bites, ruptured appendix. Vacations are never good for me."

"Hey, don't forget the time you got a concussion when hit your head trying to escape that swarm of bees."

Dean groaned for the third time. "I think I'm cursed or something, Sammy. Maybe we should be spending our time trying to figure out why that is and leave this Rue chick alone. She's never hurt anyone."

"Yet…." Sam answered.

* * *

Author's note: Wow! I'm so sorry for making you all wait for almost a month. Life has been crazy this summer, but I hope this 7000+ word chapter makes up for the long wait.

Thanks so much for reading and your continued support. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter/story.


	8. Chapter 8

Winchester Family Vacations

Chapter 8

* * *

Dean's short but storied history of vacation fails should have been enough to make him never want to take a vacation again, but he was hard-headed. He already knew that his life wasn't easy, so injuries and illness were just par for the course. It didn't matter if they were on a hunt, on vacation, or just sitting in a motel room somewhere. That was his life.

Of course, there was a part of him that thought it would be nice if he could have had at least _one_ memory of a vacation that wasn't sullied by the catastrophe that was his life. He was pretty sure that there were people out there that had fond memories of their vacations. But it just wasn't meant to be and he had to be okay with that. He wasn't one to sit and cry about the unfairness of life. _Usually._

He had to admit, though, that he might have finally reached his breaking point. To say that his life was unfair was a rather misconstrued idea. " Unfair" really didn't seem to cover their current events.

Finding out that their Bed and Breakfast was most likely haunted wasn't really that big of a deal to either of the Winchester boys. They were used to coming across the supernatural in places they weren't really expecting it and they usually just went with the flow. They put their heads down and did their jobs. Took care of business they way they'd been trained to do. No big deal.

This time was different, though. For whatever reason, this particular case _seemed_ different. Both Sam and Dean were usually quick to dispatch whatever ghost they were facing, regardless of the situation. They understood that even the most harmless ghost could- and probably would- eventually become dangerous, and it was their job to stop that before it happened. But the ghost of Rue- much like the ghost of the young girl in the Orpheum Theater- seemed different.

Dean remembered the discussion he'd had with his father after the run-in they'd had with the ghosts of the Orpheum Theater. After John's explosive anger- and subsequent fallout- had abated, they'd spent the better part of three days researching the Orpheum Theater ghosts' originations and lives. John was hell-bent on clearing the place completely, but Sam was determined that the ghost of the young girl should be left alone.

Dean remembered vividly the arguments that had filled the small room in those three days. He'd been laid up on the bed, his broken ankle propped up on pillows and his head slightly fuzzy from the pain medications he been strongly encouraged to take by his dad. Dean hated taking pain medicine, even though he would admit that in some cases it was more than necessary. And with his ankle swollen almost three times its natural size, his dad claimed it necessary.

By the time John felt like he was ready to return to the theater, Sam and Dean had both been "grounded." Dean scoffed at the idea of them being grounded, since that really wasn't any different from almost every other day of their lives. They rarely had the opportunity to behave like regular teenagers and they didn't really have anything they could be grounded from. In Dean's case, he was usually grounded from driving the Impala, but with a broken ankle, he couldn't drive it anyway.

John returned almost four hours later, bruised, bloody, and in a bad mood. He refused to talk about what had happened at the theater, saying only that it had all been taken care of, and leaving it at that. Both Dean and Sam knew that meant that he'd sent the ghosts on their way and while Dean was okay with it, Sam was a different story. Dean tried to explain to his brother that the girl was finally at peace, but Sam didn't care. He spent the next two weeks barely talking to his dad.

Now, the situation was almost completely opposite. Sam was convinced that "Rue" needed to be taken care of before they left the Bed and Breakfast. Dean wasn't so sure. She wasn't a ghost that meant any harm to anyone, first of all. And it seemed that she really just wanted to take care of people. _Why mess with something that was harmless and actually kind of sweet?_

Of course, it didn't take much for Sam to remind his brother of what he already knew. Every spirit eventually became dangerous. And every spirit deserved the chance to find some peace. So with that thought in mind, they agreed that they needed to take care of "Rue."

The rest of that afternoon was spent talking to the owner of the Bed and Breakfast and finding out whatever they could online about the circumstances surrounding Rue's death. There really wasn't a lot of information available and it took them several hours at a nearby library before they were finally able to identify their maternal spirit.

It was a loose identification, though. The records of the names of the Lighthouse keepers didn't list the names of their wives and families, so when Sam came across one picture from the late 1800's that showed a man with a young woman and two small daughters standing in front of the Heceta Head lighthouse, they jumped on it. After almost another two hours, Dean came across a mention in the small town newspaper of the lighthouse keeper's daughter drowning in the ocean at the base of the lighthouse. Her small body had been recovered almost a week later and buried somewhere on the lighthouse grounds.

The story went on to talk about how the keeper's wife eventually went insane and took her own life almost five years later. Before they were able to determine the circumstances of her death and where the woman was buried, the librarian announced that the library was closed and they were asked to leave.

After grabbing a quick dinner in the small town, Sam and Dean returned to the Bed and Breakfast. As they pulled up to the inn, they noticed Rose and her husband putting their bags into their car.

"You guys are leaving already?" Sam asked casually as they walked past.

Rose blushed and she looked up at them in embarrassment. Her husband laughed nervously before answering. "After what happened this afternoon, Rose doesn't want to stay another night."

"What happened?" Dean asked, coming to a stop next to the couple. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Rose said, dismissing his concern with a wave of her hand. "I'm just being silly, I guess."

"She saw it," her husband answered. "The ghost. And it kinda freaked her out a little."

Dean stepped even closer to Rose, genuinely interested in what she'd seen. "What did you see, Rose?"

Rose still looked embarrassed, but she answered anyway. "I was taking a nap while Chris was fishing. I woke up when I heard a loud noise, like something being dropped. At first, I thought maybe it was housekeeping, but then I realized it was coming from up above. In the attic."

Dean and Sam waited patiently while she struggled to gather herself. Dean could see her hands shaking. After almost a full minute, she finally continued.

"It took me a few seconds to realize that it couldn't be housekeeping because the only way up to the attic is through the room we were staying in and no one had come in. That freaked me out a little, but then I thought that maybe something had just fallen over up there. Just when I'd talked myself out of being scared, I heard more noises. This time it sounded like someone walking across the attic, kind of a shuffling sound. I was just about to get up when the sounds moved to the stairs. I completely froze when I realized that someone…. or _something_….. was coming down the stairs and before I could do anything, she was there. Standing right in front of me. In broad daylight."

"What did she do?"

"She didn't _do_ anything," Rose laughed nervously. "She just looked at me."

"What did _you_ do?" Dean asked.

"I freaked out! Wouldn't you? I mean, she just appeared right in front of me. Out of thin air."

"But she didn't hurt you. Or say anything," Sam clarified.

"No. She just looked at me. And it looked like she was crying."

Sam and Dean shared a look with each other before looking back at Rose and Chris. Neither one knew what to say to Rose to make her feel better, so they said nothing, and after a few seconds of awkward silence, Chris threw the last suitcase in the trunk of their car and shut it.

"Nice meeting you," he said as he ushered his still shaking wife to the car. Sam and Dean both waved at the couple as they climbed in the car and drove off.

"That's weird. I thought they were into the whole ghost thing," Sam said.

Dean laughed. "Like most people, they were into it until they realized it was real."

"I guess. So, now what?"

"I think it's time we got a look in that attic, don't you?"

"Are you sure, Dean? Remember what happened the last time you went into an attic with a ghost in it?"

Dean groaned loudly. "Why do you keep reminding me of these things, Sammy?"

"It's my job as your brother, Dean."

* * *

August 1995

Dean had messed up and his dad was pissed. It didn't matter that it really wasn't his fault. Or that he had saved someone in the process of messing up so royally. No, all that mattered to John Winchester was that his son messed up in the first place.

Dean was used to his father being pissed at him, but it bothered him nonetheless. Sam never really understood Dean's need to please their father, since he thought it was impossible to please the man in the first place. He'd spent his whole life watching his brother bend over backward to do what the man expected him. And he'd spent his whole life laying witness to Dean failing over and over again, at least in John's mind.

They were currently at Pastor Jim's for a "vacation." Or so their dad tried to tell them. Sam knew it was just an excuse for the man to pawn them off on Pastor Jim without feeling too guilty about it while he went out on a hunt again, but he didn't care. Some downtime with his brother and Jim was better than time spent with their dad on a hunt, at least for him. He knew that Dean liked to hunt with John, but that was Dean. Sam didn't really like to hunt at all.

Dean, in fact, had been upset when John informed him that he'd be staying behind, too. Sam knew that Dean looked at it as a kind of punishment for some perceived wrongdoing, but John insisted it was because he would be hunting something that was far too dangerous for either of his boys to be involved in. Dean hated that thought even more.

So, they'd be spending at least the next week with Jim. Both boys truly liked Pastor Jim and were usually happy to be spending some time with him. Jim tried to treat them like the kids they were whenever they were there, allowing them to do the things that normal kids do. Sam appreciated the idea more than Dean did, usually. Dean appreciated the ability to sleep in in the mornings, though. As much as he liked the training their dad put them through, he definitely wasn't a fan of early morning PT. In his mind, there wasn't much that was worse than getting out of bed at five in the morning to go on a five-mile run.

Pastor Jim had plans for them for that week, though. As much as he wanted them to be able to relax and enjoy themselves for a change, he needed their help with something. Once they heard the details of what Jim needed, Sam and Dean were eager to help.

One of Jim's parishioners was an elderly woman by the name of Hazel Watkins. She was a true grandmotherly type who always made it a point to bake pies for Dean and cookies for Sam whenever they were visiting. She particularly had a soft spot for Dean, who apparently reminded her of her own son. When Dean heard that the roof of her house had caved in during a recent storm, he was eager to help repair it. He was even more eager when he heard that Hazel's great-granddaughter was visiting.

Sam laughed at the look on Dean's face when he heard that Shannon was spending the summer in Blue Earth. They had met Shannon several years ago and Dean had instantly liked her. Every time they visited Pastor Jim, Dean would almost immediately ask if Shannon was visiting, too. They spent every minute they could together, much to Sam's usual dismay. While he liked her, too, he didn't like the way Dean seemed to forget all about him whenever she was around.

The minute Dean found out that Shannon was indeed in Blue Earth, he'd picked up the phone and called, eager to talk to her. Sam didn't really know about the time he'd spent at Sonny's Home for Boys- or more specifically, the time he'd spent with Robin- so he didn't really understand Dean's increased interest in girls. And Dean wasn't about to explain it to his little brother, either.

They spent the majority of the week alternating their time between working on Hazel's roof and swimming in the small lake nearby. Dean and Shannon were inseparable and Sam was feeling rather left out on most days. This feeling of loneliness had led to several arguments between the two brothers which in return led to several lectures from Pastor Jim. The man was usually patient with them, but he was quickly coming to the end of that patience both with Dean's teenage libido and with Sam's pre-teen petulance. It all came to a head when Dean forgot about his plans to take Sam fishing and went shopping with Shannon instead.

When he finally returned, Sam let him have it, calling him every bad name he had in his twelve-year-old lexicon. Dean blasted right back at him with his more extensive vocabulary and when it looked like Sam was either going to punch his brother or burst into tears, Pastor Jim stepped in.

After almost an hour of talking with the boys, together and then individually, they all sat down for dinner. Jim hoped that both Sam and Dean had a better understanding of how the other was feeling after their talks. And he hoped for the rest of the week to be more peaceful. Of course, he should have known better. He was talking about the Winchesters, after all.

* * *

Author's note: Sorry for the long wait again. I just came back from vacation, so I haven't had much time to write. I was hoping to finish up this little segment of a vacation story, but I'm going to stop right here for now. More to come soon on Dean's teenaged attic experience and on how they handle Rue.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.


	9. Chapter 9

Winchester Family Vacations

Chapter 9

* * *

Present Day

With the young couple vacating the Cape Cove room, Sam and Dean found their plan to check out the attic that night made a little easier. They ate dinner down in the dining room with the other guests that were there and sat around for at least another hour, making small talk with a young man who was apparently an amateur ghost hunter. Dean laughed when the young man told them that he'd been there at least three other times and had yet to see anything ghostly. Sam kicked his leg under the table, telling him to be nice.

Once the guests had all made their way back to their rooms, Sam and Dean retired to their own. They made sure that the Cape Cove room was still empty on the way upstairs and then waited in their own room for the inhabitants of the Inn to fall asleep.

Almost three hours later, deeming it safe to finally venture out of their room, they moved stealthily over to the Cape Cove room. Within thirty seconds, Sam had picked the lock on the door and opened it, allowing his brother to go in first.

The first thing they noticed upon entering the room was how cold it seemed. Colder than normal and colder than it should have been. The boys shared a look before making their way over to the closet that held the door to the attic. Neither were surprised to find that door locked as well, but it didn't take Sam long to pick it.

Once the door was opened, Dean started up the stairs, a flashlight in one hand and a tire iron in the other. Sam followed closely behind him with another flashlight, a can of salt, and a fireplace poker he'd snatched from the downstairs fireplace. The stairs were rather steep and there wasn't any other light except what was coming from their flashlights. As they climbed the stairs, the air grew steadily colder around them.

Seconds later, both boys spilled out onto the attic floor. They moved around the attic, back to back so as to cover all possible angles of attack. Unsurprisingly, they didn't see anything in the small attic. Dean moved over to the window, pulling back the curtain and allowing what little moonlight there was to fill the room. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up and his arms were covered in goosebumps from the cold as he warily looked around him.

"See anything?" he finally asked.

"Not a thing," Sam answered.

They both stood there for almost another full minute, taking in the creepy silence. At one point they heard a creak coming from the corner of the attic, but when they swung their flashlights in that direction, there wasn't anything there.

"Hello?" Dean called out, his voice echoing slightly in the empty room. "Anybody here?"

"Do you really expect her to answer you?" Sam laughed.

Dean didn't answer his brother as he continued to sweep his flashlight through the room. He was just about to suggest that they call it a night when he heard what sounded like someone crying somewhere in the room. "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah," Sam whispered. He, too, was sweeping his flashlight around the room. "Dean…."

Dean looked at his brother, his eyes following the motion of his flashlight, which was now pointed at the window. Standing at the window was the outline of what looked like a young woman dressed in a long skirt and a white blouse. She didn't really seem to be paying them any attention as she looked out the window, crying softly. They watched her for several long seconds before she finally turned to look at them.

"I can't find her," she cried softly. "I need to find her."

Sam and Dean knew that she was talking about her daughter, but they didn't know what to say to her. Before they could say anything, though, she continued.

"It's all my fault. She's lost and it's my fault. Can you help me find her?"

Sam stepped forward, only stopping because Dean grabbed onto his shirt. "We'll help you find her," he answered her quietly. He looked over at Dean and by the time he looked back at the window, the ghost had disappeared.

Dean stared at the window, confusion plain to see on his face. "I don't get it. I thought they found the little girl's body and buried it somewhere on the property."

"They did."

"Well, then why is she saying that her daughter is lost? That doesn't make sense."

"I don't know, Dean. Maybe the guilt she felt made her go crazy and she forgot that part. She felt so much guilt that she killed herself, remember? And now that she's a ghost, everything is even more confusing for her."

"Okay, I'll buy that. So, how do we help her?"

"Maybe we need to convince her that it wasn't her fault?"

"How do we do that?" Dean asked. "She seems to be feeling pretty guilty."

Sam didn't have an answer for that. With neither of them knowing what else to do at the moment, Sam suggested that they return to their room. They had both showered and were both laying in their beds when Dean finally spoke again. "What if we bring her daughter back to her….."

Sam looked over at his brother with a look of resignation. "You mean find the grave and dig up her bones?"

"It could work," Dean offered. "It'll suck, but it could work."

"Yeah, maybe it could."

Both boys tried to go to sleep, but the idea of digging up the bones of a child and carrying them back to the Inn kept them awake for several more hours.

* * *

August 1995

Pastor Jim was pretty tired of the attitudes of both Winchester boys and he was determined to do something about it. While he understood where they were both coming from- Dean wanting to be a normal teenage boy, spending time with a normal teenage girl, and Sam feeling hurt that his brother would rather spend time with a _girl_ than him- he felt like he needed to intervene.

And the only type of intervention he could come up with was to restrict the time that Dean spent with Shannon and to give the two of them another job, forcing them to work together. What he didn't bank on was Dean's knack for figuring out ways to get what he wanted without being completely obvious about it.

They had finished working on Hazel Watkin's roof the day before, but Jim was convinced that some good, old-fashioned, hard labor was just what the boys needed to keep them out of trouble. Of course, he underestimated Dean on his ability to get out of work, too.

"Good morning, boys," he said as Sam and Dean joined him in the kitchen for breakfast. They both plopped down in their chairs without answering him and proceeded to fight over the plate of bacon. Jim held his tongue, hoping that the boys would calm down on their own, but when they started fighting over the bowl of scrambled eggs, he knew he needed to step in. "Hey! There's enough there for both of you, so quit your fighting." When neither boys looked like they were ready to stop, Jim continued. "I mean it, Dean! Sam! Stop fighting or you'll be spending the afternoon helping Mrs. Conrad with choir practice."

Dean immediately let go of the bowl of eggs, causing it to tip over and partially spill onto the table. He immediately stood up and spooned the spilled eggs onto his plate. "Sorry," he said as he stuffed a piece of bacon into his mouth. Sam put the half-empty bowl of eggs down on the table and served himself a spoonful.

The three of them sat quietly at the table, Dean shoveling his food into his mouth as fast as possible while Sam seemed to be picking at the food on his plate. Dean dropped his fork onto his plate, picked up his glass of orange juice and gulped it down, and then stood up, announcing that he was off to see Shannon.

"Hold up, Dean," Jim said before the kid had even taken a step away from the table. "Not today."

"What? Why not?" Dean asked, all flummoxed by the man's words as he watched his plans for the day disappear.

"You two have been at each other's throats for the last three days. I thought that maybe you'd be able to work it out between you, but it's obvious that you can't. Or won't. So, it's time for me to step in."

Both Sam and Dean groaned loudly at the man's words. They'd stayed with Pastor Jim enough to know exactly what that meant and neither one of them was looking forward to the man's plans.

Deciding to change his plans for the boys, Jim continued with what he thought was a brilliant plan. "Okay, from this point forward, the two of you are to stay in each other's presence. Where you go, Dean, Sam goes. Sam, where you go, Dean goes. I have faith in the two of you that you can get over whatever this pettiness is you're going through and learn to appreciate each other again."

"What if I have to go to the bathroom?" Sam asked, his face blushing at the thought of Dean going into the bathroom with him.

"Then Dean will wait outside."

"I don't want to have to wait outside the bathroom every time Sam has to go to the bathroom," Dean groaned. "The kid has a bladder the size of a peanut."

"I do not!" Sam cried.

"Yes, you do!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yes-huh!"

"That's not even a word, Dean," Sam yelled, rolling his eyes at his brother.

"It's as much of a word as nuh-uh is, shrimp!"

"Don't call me a shrimp, idjit!"

"Don't call me an idjit, geek boy!"

"BOYS!" Jim's voice thundered through the small kitchen and both boys turned to stare at him, never having heard him yell so loudly before. "I don't want to hear another word out of either of your mouths for the next hour. Understand?"

Sam and Dean both nodded, contritely.

"Good. Now, if you're done eating, clean off the table and get out of my sight. Be back here by noon for lunch and don't leave the property without telling me."

Dean stood up and started clearing off his side of the table as Sam went back to eating. When Dean was done, he headed towards the door, but Jim stopped him. "Hold up, Dean. Sam's still eating and you're not to go anywhere without him, remember?"

Dean groaned loudly, but didn't say anything. Instead, he just sank back down into his chair and watched his brother eat, swearing that the kid was chewing in slow motion on purpose.

* * *

Jim was pretty sure that his idea worked out completely opposite of how he intended it. By lunch, both Sam and Dean were glaring daggers at each other, and by dinner, they'd been in at least one wrestling match that ended with Sam having a fat lip and Dean sporting a shiner. Jim knew that John didn't mind the occasional tussle between his boys, citing the fact that boys will be boys and brothers will be brothers. But, Jim disagreed.

Of course, he didn't worry that the boys didn't care for each other, because he knew the truth of that. Sam and Dean loved each other more than they loved anyone else. And normally, they supported each other and got along pretty good. The problem was that Dean's hormones were kicking it into high gear and Sam was jealous of anyone who took Dean's attention away from him.

Jim was hoping that by making the boys spend the day together, they'd find that camaraderie that they normally shared and everything would go back to normal. _Boy, was he wrong._

By the end of the day, he was ready to wring the necks of both boys, especially Dean's. And if John ever found out what happened, there would definitely be hell to pay.

* * *

Dean didn't really know how he got himself into situations like the one he suddenly found himself in. He figured it was because he sometimes didn't put a lot of thought into what he was doing. No, he had a tendency to fly by the seat of his pants, doing what he felt like doing without looking at the pros and cons. Of course, he wasn't like that when he hunted. On a hunt, he was focused and had learned to think two to three steps ahead of him, thanks to his dad's training. John Winchester didn't tolerate any flying by the seat of your pants, unless he was the one doing it. Dean knew he had a lot to learn.

The first thing he needed to learn was that he should listen to his brother more often. Sam was just a kid, but he was a pretty smart kid, and when he shared his thoughts on something, Dean would be better off listening to what he said and at least taking it into consideration. If he learned to do that, then maybe he wouldn't find himself in trouble so often.

Their punishment of being joined at the hip for the day was annoying and distracting and completely ruined Dean's plans for the day, but he knew better than to eschew Pastor Jim's edict. The man might be a man of God and a gentle man by nature, but he also had a toughness to him that rivaled John Winchester's. In fact, Sam and Dean had both witnessed the man putting their father in his place on more than one occasion. _And boy, wasn't that a sight to behold._

After spending the morning moping around, the boys decided to head over to the pond to do a little swimming. Dean tried calling Shannon to see if she wanted to join them, but she was out running errands for her grandmother. So, they spent the morning and most of the afternoon swimming and just laying around, getting on each other's nerves quite often.

After a particularly intense water fight between the two where Sam ended up with a fat lip from Dean's elbow and Dean ended up with a shiner from Sam's bony knee, they decided to head back for dinner. Jim wasn't impressed by the state of the boys when they showed back up at the house, and he wasn't completely inclined to believe that the injuries they were sporting were actually unintentional, but he decided to let it go.

After dinner, Sam and Dean made their way upstairs. Sam wanted to play a board game, but Dean wanted to look at some comic books he'd found in Jim's bookcase. They argued for a while, until Dean finally agreed to play just one game with his brother, as long as he could pick the game. They were halfway through the game of Checkers- which Dean was losing impressively- when Jim yelled upstairs that Shannon was on the phone for Dean.

"Let's go, Sammy," Dean said as he jumped up, disrupting the Checker board.

"Hey! You messed up the game!" Sam yelled as he followed his brother out the door and down the stairs. He came to a sudden stop, nearly running into the back of his brother, when Dean stopped and turned around.

"Listen, I know you're supposed to stay with me, but I don't want you listening in on my phone call."

"How am I not supposed to listen?" Sam asked, completely annoyed with his brother.

"I don't know…. Stick your fingers in your ear or something," Dean growled. "Just don't listen."

Sam rolled his eyes, but when Dean picked up the phone and started talking, Sam stuck a finger in each ear. Of course, he didn't stick them in far enough that he couldn't still hear what Dean was saying, but his brother didn't know that.

Dean talked to Shannon for almost five minutes, frequently looking over at his brother who still had his fingers in his ears and was shuffling around in boredom. When he finally hung up the phone, Sam let out a big sigh, rolling his eyes at his brother again.

"It's about time," Sam whined. "What were you guys talking about anyway?"

"If I wanted you to know that, I wouldn't have told you to put your fingers in your ears, Sammy."

"Dean, I heard what you said and I really think you should stay away from that place."

"Hey, runt, you weren't supposed to be listening, remember? And don't worry about me. I'm a big boy and I can take care of myself."

Sam rolled his eyes again and followed his brother into the living room. Pastor Jim was sitting on the couch with a book in his hand. He looked up as the boys entered the room, but didn't say anything. Dean stepped over and turned the television on, flipping through the channels until he found a horror movie that he knew Sam hated.

"Maybe you should find something else to watch, Dean," Jim suggested quietly.

This time it was Dean that was rolling his eyes, but he changed the channel, this time stopping on an old western that they'd seen a hundred times, at least. They watched for several minutes before they were interrupted by the phone ringing again.

Jim stood up and answered the phone. Sam and Dean both listened to the man talking, wondering if it was their dad calling. When they realized that it wasn't, Dean turned his attention back to the TV. Sam continued to listen to Jim, trying to piece together what the man was saying.

When Jim hung up the phone, he turned back to the boys. "Sam? Dean? I need to go out for a while. One of my parishioners had to be rushed to the hospital and I should be there. How about you boys come with me…. Darcy and Joe have two kids that will be there, too. They could probably use some company and I think the oldest is just about your age, Sam."

Sam immediately jumped up, wanting to be of help and wanting to maybe talk with someone his own age at the same time. Dean, on the other hand, stayed on the couch.

"Can I stay here, Pastor Jim? I'm kinda tired after swimming all day and I wanna watch the rest of this movie." He punctuated his statement with a big yawn.

"Are you sure? I don't know how long I'll be gone, Dean. It could be a while."

"That's okay. I'll probably go to bed when this movie is over anyway."

Jim eyed him closely, but then agreed that it would be okay for him to stay behind. "Let's go, Sam. Dean, behave yourself."

"Yes, sir," Dean answered.

* * *

By the time Jim and Sam made it back home, it was almost midnight. They were both exhausted and eager to go to bed, so neither of them wasted any time in heading to their rooms. Jim had just taken off his shoes when Sam came bursting through his door.

"Dean's gone!" Sam cried, as he nearly jumped into Jim's lap.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Jim asked.

"He's not in our room, Pastor Jim."

Jim took a few seconds to put his shoes back on before leaving his room to check the house. When he had looked through the house and found no sign of Dean, he turned to look at Sam. "Did he say anything about going anywhere?" he asked a wide-eyed Sam. Sam shook his head, but then got a strange look on his face. "Sam? What is it?"

"I-I don't know. When he was talking to Shannon, I heard him say something about the old Miller place. He said that it would be cool to check it out someday."

Sam didn't miss the look on Pastor Jim's face at the mention of the Miller place. He also didn't miss the way the man's face suddenly paled. Without another word, Jim turned and picked up the phone, dialing a number somewhat anxiously. They both waited as the phone rang one… two… three… four… five times before it was finally answered. Sam could just make out the sound of a woman's voice and when Jim asked if Shannon was home, he knew that the woman was Hazel Watkins.

They waited for a few minutes while the old woman went to check on her granddaughter. When she finally returned, Sam heard her frantically telling Pastor Jim that Shannon wasn't in her bed. He listened as the man explained that Shannon was most likely with Dean and that he thought he knew where they were. After offering Hazel Watkins a few more reassurances that he would find Shannon and bring her home, Jim hung up the phone.

Sam could tell that the man was worried about something and he suddenly found himself growing nervous. "Pastor Jim? What's wrong?"

Jim had moved over to his gun cabinet and had removed a shotgun and a duffle bag before turning back to Sam. He looked like he didn't want to say anything to Sam, but then thought better of it. "There's been some talk about some weird things happening out at the old Miller place, Sam. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, so I don't know what they're talking about. It's probably nothing, but I'd like to go get your brother and bring him home, just in case."

* * *

Author's note: Dun-dun-dun….. I was hoping to finish this part of the story tonight, but it's almost three am and I'm tired. This felt like an okay place to stop, so I hope you all don't mind.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. This story is coming to an end, just so you know, and I appreciate all of you that have taken the time to read/review. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Take care.


	10. Chapter 10

Winchester Family Vacations

Chapter 10

* * *

Present Day

The idea of digging up the bones of a little girl was unsettling to both Sam and Dean, but they understood the need for it. The ghost, Rue, deserved to be able to be at rest. She deserved peace. And if digging up a child's bones was what it took to give her that peace, well….. that's what they had to do.

But, first they had to find the unmarked grave. Knowing that it was somewhere on the property wasn't really helpful since the property was rather large. Sam thought it would be a good idea to talk to someone who worked at the Bed and Breakfast, so they headed downstairs as soon as they were done showering.

The young lady at the reception desk hadn't worked there for very long and didn't know anything about the ghost, but she was able to point them in the direction of the groundskeeper. Sam figured that was the best place to start. And once they found Jefferson, the tall, skinny, grumpy man that had been tending the grounds for years, he knew he'd been right.

"Excuse me," Sam said as he walked up behind the man who was bending down and pulling weeds out of a flower bed. The man jerked upwards, surprised to find someone behind him. Sam reached out and steadied him when he stumbled forward a few steps. "Whoa, there. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me," the man growled. "Just surprised me, is all."

"Oh, well… sorry about that."

"What do you need, big fella?" the man asked as he looked Sam over from head to toe before turning his attention onto Dean.

Sam reached his hand out towards the man as he introduced himself. "I'm Sam and this is my brother Dean. The lady at the front desk said you've worked here for over thirty years."

"Yeah, that's right. Thirty-three, to be exact. And my name's Otis."

"You must know a lot about the history of this place, Otis."

"I know my fair share," he admitted. "What's it to you?"

Dean stepped forward, stopping next to his brother. "We're researching a screenplay we're writing and we need some information. Figured you were the guy to go to for that information."

"A screenplay?"

"Yeah, we're hoping to make a movie. And I know just the guy to play your part, actually."

"Really? And who would that be?" the man didn't look too impressed by what he was hearing and Sam wondered just what his brother was up to.

"I was thinking Tom Hanks, for sure. You have the same build, don't you think?" Both Sam and Dean noticed how the man's eyes lit up at the thought of Tom Hanks playing him in a movie.

"Tom Hanks, huh? Believe it or not, he's one of my favorite actors.

Dean winked at his brother and Sam suddenly wondered how Dean could know that.

"What kind of movie are you making? And how can I help?" The man suddenly seemed way more eager to help them out, much to Sam's surprise.

"Well, the screenplay we're writing is based on legends and folklore. But it's going to be different from your regular psychological thriller. Ours is going to be more personal and heart-warming. Think Forrest Gump meets The Shining."

"That sounds…. Interesting."

"It will be," Dean continued. "We already have lots of investors interested in the idea. We just need to flesh out the script a little more. And that's where you come in. We're currently researching the possibility of the Heceta Head ghost and thought that maybe you could shed some light on the story. Is there any truth to it?"

"Of course, there's truth to it. That ghost has been a part of this place for over a century."

Sam cleared his throat and took over. "We know the story. We were just wondering if you knew anything about where the grave of that little girl might be."

"I don't know for sure, but I've had my suspicions for years. I've thought about digging in a few places to see if I could find her, but then I thought to myself '_what kind of person does that?'_ Right?"

Sam and Dean shared a quick look, but then turned their attention back to Otis. "We don't want to dig the grave up, Otis. We just thought it might bring us some inspiration if we saw it."

Otis looked them over closely before giving in. "Okay. Well, there are three possibilities that I know of. One is right over there at the base of the lighthouse. The shrubs have taken over, but there's a spot that never seems to turn green, no matter how much rain we get. There's another spot along the pathway to get up here. Some people believe that the weird rock structure at the base of the largest tree is a place mark to show where she was buried."

"And the last one?"

"It's behind the Inn. There's a natural pathway that takes you several hundred feet into the hillside. Just beyond the first line of trees, up the hill a little, there is a shrubbery that flowers even in the winter sometimes. Some think this is where that poor little soul was laid to rest."

"What do you think?" Dean asked the man.

"If I had to pick which one of those three was the right one, I'd pick the last one."

The brothers shared another look before thanking Otis for his help. Otis asked a few more questions about their potential movie, still excited to think that Tom Hanks might be playing him. Sam wondered how the man really thought that his part in a story would actually be important enough for an actor like Hanks to play him, but he kept his mouth shut.

As they made their way back to the Inn, Sam stopped and looked at Dean. "What was all that about? We're writing a screenplay? Really?"

"What?!" Dean defended himself. "I thought that worked pretty well."

"But what if it hadn't? What if he wasn't the kind of guy to care about movies and stuff?"

"C'mon, Sammy. What's one of the most important lessons Dad ever taught us?"

"Obey his orders or else?" Sam offered.

Dean rolled his eyes. "No. One of the first rules of hunting…. Observe the situation carefully."

"Okay? How did that help you here?" Sam still looked confused.

"Sam, did you even look at the man when we first walked up to him?"

"Of course, I did."

"So, then you noticed the Bubba Gump hat on his head and the Shining reference on his t-shirt?"

"What reference?"

"Sam, his t-shirt literally said 'All work and no play makes Otis a dull boy.' That's almost a direct quote from the movie."

"So, that made you think that he was into movies, then…."

"Yeah, Sammy. It did. At least, it made me think that the idea of us making a movie might interest him enough to cooperate. And it worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah. It did," Sam admitted. "I'm impressed, Dean. That was some fast thinking on your part. And great observational skills. Dad would be proud." He didn't miss the flash of _something _in his brother's eyes.

Dean started walking again. "So, what's the plan now?"

"I guess we go out after dark and start digging." Sam was suddenly aware of the tenseness in Dean's shoulders and back. "Are you okay?" he asked, not really expecting an answer other than 'I'm fine.'

"Yeah. Just thinking about something Otis said. What kind of person spends their life digging up the bones of some poor little girl? That's a good question, isn't it?"

"Dean, we don't do it because we enjoy it. We do it because we have to. Because we want to help people."

"I guess."

Dean had a faraway look on his face and Sam suddenly knew what his brother was thinking about. "Dean, that was a long time ago. And none of it was your fault."

"Some of it was, Sammy. Maybe not all of it, but some of it definitely was my fault. I shouldn't have ever taken Shannon there that night."

* * *

August 1995

Dean knew he was being an idjit, but he really didn't want to pass up a chance to hang out with Shannon. The summer was almost over and he knew that his dad would be back almost any day. That meant that they would be packing up soon and moving on to wherever the next hunt took them. And that meant that he'd have to say goodbye to Shannon again.

He really liked Shannon. There was a part of him that thought it would be pretty cool to stay at Pastor Jim's and go to the local high school. There was a part of him that thought the idea of having an actual girlfriend was nice. They could ride to school together and do homework together. He could ask her to Homecoming and to Prom like every other red-blooded American teenager did. They could go to movies and to football games. He'd never really wanted something like that before. Instead, he'd always been okay with seeing a girl once or twice and then moving on before things got complicated. It definitely made things easier on him.

But Shannon was different. She was special. And he knew he was really going to miss her when they left. Shannon usually left to go back home at the end of summer, but she thought there might be a possibility that she would be staying in Blue Earth for the school year. Dean suddenly found himself wanting to do the same. He'd do anything to be able to spend more time with her.

So, once Bobby and Sam left to go to the hospital, Dean immediately jumped up to get ready. Shannon told him about an end of summer bash that someone was throwing in an abandoned house and although he would much rather just be alone with her, he knew that she really wanted to go to the party. He wasn't sure if he was really going to be able to sneak out, so he'd told her he probably wouldn't be able to go. Now he was hoping to surprise her.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Dean made to leave. He was almost out the door when he realized that he was going out without a single piece of anything to fight with if things went sideways. Turning back to the kitchen, he pulled out a salt shaker and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. He also ran back upstairs and grabbed his hunting knife, stuffing it into one of his socks. Salt and iron. He knew he should probably take something silver, too, but he figured the odds of there being a werewolf this close to Pastor Jim were pretty low. The man policed his community pretty well.

Without another thought, he opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. Shannon only lived about half a mile away, so he quickly hoofed it to her house. He knew that Hazel Watkins was probably deep into her REM cycle by then, so he quietly made his way over to Shannon's window. Picking up a few dried cherries that still littered the ground, he threw them gently against the window. It took him only three tries before the window opened and Shannon poked her head out.

"Dean!" she whispered loudly. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you couldn't go to the party."'

"Things changed, so let's go. All the good beer will be gone if we don't hurry."

Shannon laughed before ducking back inside her room. A few minutes later, she threw a leg over the window sill and reached out her hand. Dean quickly moved over to the window and grabbed her hand. The window was just far enough off the ground to make climbing out of it a little challenging. Shannon's foot kicked him against the head when he tried to pull her down, but eventually she was able to sit on his shoulders. Once she was safely perched there, Dean reached up and grabbed her by the waist, and then swung her down to the ground. "Why didn't you just go out the front door? It would've been a lot easier."

"Gran's asleep in her recliner. She sleeps there most nights now, because she can breathe better sitting up. I didn't want to try to sneak past her."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Apparently, I need to teach you the finer art of sneaking around without getting caught."

Shannon rolled her eyes right back at him before planting a big kiss on his lips. "Let's go," she said as she grabbed his hand and started walking.

"How far away is this place?" Dean asked.

"It's almost seven miles away," Shannon answered.

"Seven miles! I don't want to walk seven miles!"

"Who said anything about walking, Dean?"

"Well, unless you can fly or you have a car I don't know about, I think walking is the only way we can do this."

Shannon suddenly let go of his head and took off running towards a small shed on the edge of the property. Dean hadn't really ever noticed the shed before and he was surprised when Shannon pulled open the door to reveal a dusty looking motorcycle.

"Ta da!" Shannon threw her arms up in the air and laughed at the look on Dean's face. "Well, come on! Let's go."

"Shannon, whose bike is this?" Dean asked as he stepped over to it and looked it over.

"It was my uncle's. He moved away almost a year ago and left it here. Gran didn't want to sell it."

"And it works?"

"I think so. It better work, right? Otherwise we are going to have to walk to the party." Shannon looked at him, obviously trying to figure out what he was thinking. "You _can _ride, can't you?" she finally asked.

"Hell yeah, I can," Dean answered. Of course, there was no way he was going to tell her that the only motorcycle he'd ever ridden on was one of the miniature ones at the carnival Uncle Bobby had taken them to once. No, he'd keep that secret to himself for now and hope that he could quickly figure out how to ride an actual motorcycle.

* * *

Author's note: Dang! I know it's been a while since I've updated this story. Thanks for being patient with me, though. I thought maybe I'd wrap this story up with this chapter, but that obviously didn't happen, lol. I'm thinking 1-2 more chapters ought to do it, so bear with me a little longer.

I just got back from the Supernatural Vegas convention and it was great. It was a little weird due to all this coronavirus stuff, but everyone was very respectful of the new rules put into place to keep everyone safe. Jared and Jensen were in top form, even though the plane Jensen was flying in to get there had to make an emergency landing. Scary story that, fortunately, had a good ending.

Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. Thanks to all of you who have stuck it out with me since the beginning. I truly appreciate you all.


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